


Shared Orbit

by Celestial_Alignment



Series: Skydalorian [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Job, DINLUKE, Din Djarin Removes the Helmet, Fluff, Hand Jobs, Luke's POV, M/M, Oral, Rimming, SKYDALORIAN, Sexual Frustration, Showers, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:35:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26315029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celestial_Alignment/pseuds/Celestial_Alignment
Summary: After years of only occasionally meeting and hooking up, Luke and Din are finally travelling together. They can finally have as much alone time as they want... right?
Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Din/Luke, The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/Luke Skywalker
Series: Skydalorian [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1912048
Comments: 80
Kudos: 871





	1. We Are One Together

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, if you have read "Comets Passing" and left kudos and/or comments on that fic THANK YOU SO MUCH. I didn't know how many other people were aboard the SS Skydalorian and it just warms my heart to hear from you and to see all the other fics! This is a continuation of that fic, and this time it's Luke's POV.

The X-Wing touched down smoothly on the platform in Hanna City, settling with a few resounding clangs. Luke’s gloved hands flipped down all the switches to shut off the engines, but the communication screen remained on to scroll the text from Artoo.

_Do we have to leave the X-Wing behind?_

“It’s okay, Artoo,” Luke spoke into the helmet. “If we’re going to travel with Din, we don’t need a fighter. Trust me.”

The astromech let out a resigned _woo_ and they prepared to disembark. The cockpit’s top lifted open and Luke was hit with the astonishingly fresh air of Chandrila. He stood in the cockpit, stretching to get the stiffness out of his arms and legs after such a long journey. A massive gust nearly blew him out of the cockpit as an old gunship passed by over head. The _Razor Crest_ hadn’t been far behind in their journey here, and it was just now coming in for a landing.

The landing gear emerged and the boxy, antiquated ship set down with such smoothness that Luke knew it was purely Din’s piloting skills. Those old gunships were as easy to maneuver as a log in a river. Luke couldn’t stop himself from smiling brightly as he climbed down the ladder of his fighter, his helmet under his arm, his orange flightsuit heavy as he dropped to the ground. R2-D2 let himself down with the clamps from the X-Wing. 

Luke stood patiently, his eyes lifted to the _Razor Crest_ as its engines droned lower and lower into silence, the converters cooling and shutting down. Some steam hissed out of it in places that weren’t normal for this kind of ship. Din really was attached to this horribly outdated vessel, but Luke knew it had its practical purposes. Pre-Empire ships are impossible to track. 

Artoo tootled beside him and he rested a gloved hand atop the little droid’s domed top. Finally the ramp lowered from the _Crest_ and Din strolled out, his cape swinging from one shoulder in the downward descent, his jet pack on, and still fully armed and armored. At least he wasn’t carrying that Amban rifle. The tiny green child wasn't far behind. He walked on his own, waddling with the utmost care as if he was too top heavy, his three fingers hands out on each side of him. Both Din and his child were tingling with apprehension.

Luke approached, Artoo on his heels.

"What's the matter?"

Din met him halfway, pausing to look back to the child, who was tottering faster to catch up. Only when the kid was hugging his boot did Din touch his vambrace and the ramp raised and locked shut.

" _Didn't think we'd be back here so soon…_ " Din said simply, his voice sounding terse even through the voice modulator. " _Any way we can get food for the little one?_ "

"Of course…" Luke smiled when he saw the large eyes staring up at him from Din's ankle. "I’m sure we can find something.”

With Din’s help, Luke transferred his belongings to the _Crest_ , the crates of artifacts he had accumulated, few as they were, as well as his personal tools and discarded parts from when he had constructed his lightsaber (who knew when he would be forced to build another one). Once everything was stowed, Luke led the way to Leia’s villa that overlooked Hanna City.

Luke looked curiously around as he made his way past the fountains and gleaming buildings. The air was fresh with the forests and nature that surrounded them, the breeze cool and comfortable. He hadn't been here in over a year, and it didn't seem to change at all.

C-3PO greeted them at the door and ushered them into the immaculate lobby of the apartment. The last time Luke was here, it was arranged differently. It had fewer chairs, if he remembered correctly. Or maybe it was exactly the same. The fact that he couldn’t tell sent a pang through his heart. Maybe he was away for too long.

“It is wonderful to see you again, Master Luke!” Threepio said cheerfully.

Artoo twittered and beeped.

“Yes, Artoo…” Threepio tilted a little at the waist. “Dare I say it, I missed you too, my little friend…”

Din Djarin entered slowly, his body stiff, his head not turning except to look to make sure the Child was close at his heels still. Luke could feel the Mandalorian’s unease. To be fair, the armored warrior certainly _looked_ out of place. He didn’t need to ask if Leia was home, he instead looked expectantly to the door, and within seconds, she stepped out. A smile blossomed on her face and she closed the distance between them, throwing her arms around him.

“Luke!”

They both laughed for joy, though he grunted a little with how tightly she was squeezing him. Finally, she let go and took his face for a moment as if making sure he was real. With a satisfied sigh, she stepped back. Artoo beeped at her.

“Welcome back, Artoo…” her smile mostly faded, though, when she looked past Luke to the Mandalorian. “Hello again.”

Luke finally felt the reality of his sister and Din being in the same room together. He never thought two of the people he cared about the most would converge in one place. He suppressed the stupid grin that he felt burning in his cheeks. He felt an unexpected sense of pride to be bringing Din home, as if this special secret of his could finally be shared with the world. He had no doubt that his sister, or anyone, could see through the armor and know how extraordinary the man beneath was.

“Leia… You’ve already met Din Djarin…”

“Yes… You said he’s an old friend?”

Luke nodded shyly. “Have you asked Han about Ord Mantell?”

Whatever joy was left in her face immediately flared into a quiet rage. “No. Han hasn’t exactly been easy to communicate with these days… He’s away with Lando on what he claims is a simple supply run…”

She was going to murder Han the next time she saw him, Luke could feel it. In spite of their conflict, Luke knew how much they loved each other. He squeezed her hand gently with his prosthetic. In an exchanged glance, but not a word uttered, they agreed to talk about it more later, when she wasn’t worried about their new guest.

“We have rooms here for you both…” she said suddenly, putting on her hospitable voice.

The thought of freshening up, washing off the grime of the temple and hours in his fighter had Luke aching to get out of his flight suit. “That’d be great…” he sighed.

“We’ll have dinner in an hour….” She touched Luke’s arm in passing as she approached Din, her eyes on the Child where he hid behind his father’s boot. “What does he like to eat? We can accommodate just about every preference…”

“ _He likes meat. Hot soups or broths._ ”

Leia nodded once. “That won’t be any trouble at all… Welcome back, Din Djarin. I’m looking forward to hearing how you and my brother met…”

She glanced at Luke, and he knew that she knew. Of course she did. Over the years, they had come to know each other’s feelings and thoughts almost as well as their own. They were never as closely bonded as they were when Luke had tried to train her, before she quit because of dark premonitions. Leia would have been a powerful Jedi, probably more so than Luke, but he knew her choice to give it up was not an easy one. He trusted her decision in spite of whatever disappointments he felt.

“ Threepio, will you please show Din Djarin and his boy where they can stay?”

“Yes, my lady.”

Leia offered one last smile and swept out of the room. C-3PO began to lead the way, and Luke walked with Din, who had picked up the child to carry in the crook of his arm. The infant was eternally curious about this place, his head turning to and fro as he looked at the bright, but generally colorless, decor. Din, all the while, was silent and so reserved he felt like a pressurized can. 

They came to the guest room and Threepio excused himself, shuffling away with R2-D2, the little astromech twittering away like he always did when reunited with the protocol droid, catching him up on his latest adventures.

Luke followed Din into the room and shut the door.

“You don’t have to stay here long, I promise…” he said. “After dinner I’ll make sure my X-Wing is stored, then we can take off.”

“ _We can stay as long as you want._ ”

Luke approached him, looking fondly at that blank T-visor face of his, the voice and the emotions telling him everything Din’s face couldn’t.

“You hate it here.” Luke smiled.

“ _…No. It’s… fine…_ ”

Luke folded his arms.

“ _Okay… I’m not overly fond of this place._ ”

The child cooed and Luke took his hand between two fingers. “To be honest, I’d prefer that you at least get a good night’s sleep. I mean real sleep, both eyes closed. If you’re alright with it, we can leave first thing in the morning.”

A sigh gusted out of Din beneath the helmet, his chest rising and falling with the action. He carried the Child to the perfectly made bed, setting him atop the pillow. It was so soft, the baby practically sank into it. He rolled onto his back, his big eyes on the ceiling, his toes poking out from under his brown sack for clothes. He looked absurdly comfortable. Din returned to Luke, his gloved hands closing around Luke’s waist.

“ _Luke_ ,” he said firmly but softly. “ _Spend as much time with your family as you need._ ”

Luke truly did want to spend time with them. He missed them terribly. With Din’s blessing, he felt a weight off his shoulders, and he nodded. He closed his arms around Din’s neck. He wanted to kiss him—badly. But he didn’t dare say it out loud. He didn’t want Din to think the mask was an obstacle or an annoyance. Luke understood why he wore it, even if he selfishly wished from time to time that it wasn’t there. He wished he could see Din in the light, not just with his hands. He tried not to wonder what Din looked like, or he might make himself go crazy. Instead, he did the next best thing to kissing him and touched his forehead to the front of the helmet. Din sighed again.

There was a beep at the door. With an annoyed wince, Luke pulled away. “Shall I?”

Din nodded and walked to the bed, where the baby was very slowly trying to climb down the side, his feet dangling high above the floor. Din helped close the gap by lowering him gently down by the back of his clothes.

Luke opened the door and was surprised to see Leia. He had been so engrossed in Din he didn’t sense her coming. Or the child whose hand she was holding.

“Ben!” Luke laughed and dropped to a knee in front of the child. “Look how big you’ve gotten!”

The boy had grown half a foot since Luke had seen him last, his hair still black as jet, the same fragility in his eyes, his hand tightly gripping his mother’s. Ben must have been nearly six years old by now.

“You remember me, don’t you?”

Ben nodded shyly. “Hi, Uncle Luke…”

“Ben has something he wants to ask Din…” Leia said with a gentle hint of a smile. Ben looked up at her, his eyes large. “Go ahead…”

Ben never let go of his mother’s hand. He looked at Luke, his eyes flickering past him to the Mandalorian in the room.

“Can he… come play?” 

Luke, still kneeling in front of his nephew, looked over his shoulder. Din approached, the Child tottering alongside him towards the door. His green head tilted back as he looked up at Ben, a sharp toothed smile appearing with a squeak, his ears perked up.

“ _Looks like he decided for himself…_ ” Din said quietly. “… _Sure_.”

And Ben smiled, something Luke didn’t get to see very often. The Child raised his arms towards Ben, whose knobby knees jutted out as he stooped down with surprising strength for his age, and picked up the little one, both arms wrapped around him. As soon as he got the approving nod from his mother, Ben wandered off with his new friend.

Din was leaning out the door watching them go. 

“They’ll be alright, Ben’s just taking him to his room,” Leia said softly. “He never has anyone to play with… He hasn’t stopped talking about him since they first visited.”

“Doesn’t he have any friends?” Luke asked quietly, afraid Ben could hear.

Leia shook her head and he could see the pain it caused her. “He knows he’s different… I’ve tried to talk to him about it, but I can’t get him to understand…”

Like any other child, Ben had his bad days and tantrums, but Luke could never forget the way that Leia described the fury of a three-year-old Ben, objects hurling through the room.

“Is he still losing control?”

“Not in a very long time,” she said softly. “He’s not violent anymore, just… sad. He misses his father.”

Luke nodded his understanding. Han was Han. The man was as easy to love as he was to hate. He wondered if Han had any idea how special his son was, let alone his own wife.

“The Force is very strong with Ben,” he said it with a smile, to reassure Leia that it was a gift, not a curse. “And… Well, your son, too.” He looked at Din.

“Will you be able to help them both?” Leia asked.

“I don’t know,” Luke answered truthfully, though it killed him to be uncertain. “But I swear to you I’ll try. I won’t stop until I have more answers.”

“ _I’ll help._ ” Din stated it as an oath and it made Luke’s heart skip.

He couldn’t help smiling to the Mandalorian.

“I know it’s none of my business….” Leia said quietly, edging nearer to the door and looking past her brother, directly at the bounty hunter. “And I don’t even know anything about you. But if you do anything to hurt my brother, I want you to know that I’ve killed my fair share of bounty hunters.”

“Leia!” Luke’s face was burning. “I told you, Din’s a good person…”

She sighed and looked at him as if he was some gullible child. He hated it when she looked at him like that, it wasn’t his fault she was more jaded than he was about people. They had more than one uncomfortable conversation—debate rather—about their father, and now she had questions about Din’s past, he could feel it.

“I’ll leave you two to get cleaned up… See you at dinner.” She smiled at Luke, one last hard look at Din. 

She walked away and Luke buried his face in one hand. “Sorry about my sister…"

“ _It’s fine. I understand._ ”

“The last Mandalorian bounty hunter we met was, um… He sold Han to Jabba the Hutt… In carbonite, of all things, can you imagine? He was also one of many bounty hunters that Darth Vader had hired to get me, so she’s a bit—”

“ _It’s okay. She’s cautious, I respect that. She has a family and her own people to look after. That makes her smarter than some people I know._ ” Din’s helmet canted, expressionless and yet speaking volumes in the way that he teased.

“I’m not sure, but I think I’ve just been insulted…” He tried to put on a pout. Leia was smarter than him, and he was at least smart enough to know it. There was a sudden silence between them, and it occurred to him that he should say something. He felt suddenly sweaty. “I should go to my own room to wash up…”

“ _Probably_.” Din’s arm slowly hooked around Luke’s skinny waist, corralling him backward into the room and closing the door.

Luke laughed, nearly lifted off his feet in the process. They were alone now. Truly alone. They didn’t have to watch out for the Child, or jengors, or even Artoo. That thought was all it took to consume Luke with need, and he could feel the same in Din.

The bounty hunter was pulling him in tight, his armor jabbing into Luke’s shoulders, chest, and thighs. He let out an involuntary hiss at the pangs. “Ah! Din… easy…” he managed a nervous chuckle.

“ _What can we do in less than an hour…?_ ” Din’s voice sounded absolutely smoky behind that helmet and it made Luke shudder.

The question made his mind reel faster than a turbine, calculating how much time it would take to get undressed and to get in bed. Then there was still the issue of cleaning up before dinner.

He shimmied out of his flight suit, discarding the heavy orange material and all the accessories attached to it, which left him in his tighter black clothes.

“I got one idea…” Luke’s voice graveled a little with mischief as he slid down the length of Din’s body.

Din didn’t say anything, he especially didn’t say no, but his answer came in heavy breaths and the anticipation that vibrated out of him like a plucked chord. Luke could feel every reaction through the Force if he was listening for it, and he knew Din wanted it.

He didn’t even need to take off the Mandalorian’s belt, he could easily get into his pants, freeing his rather impressive manhood. Luke had learned early on how well endowed this warrior was, and he never could get satisfied enough with it. Din was semi-hard when Luke freed him, but the moment Luke took him into his flesh hand and stroked him, he pulsed to full attention, shivering as his blood raced into it.

Luke wanted to take his time, he wanted to revel in having this moment alone with Din again for the first time in years. They could turn out all the lights, make it pitch black, then Din could take off his helmet and never be seen. Luke could kiss him, feel the firmness of his cheekbones, the scratchiness of his whiskers and the thickness of his hair. What color was it? If the rest of Dins’ body was any indication, it must have been dark, Luke guessed. He had felt his nose before, it had a strong shape to it, hooked and regal.

He tried to paint Din’s face in his mind as he kissed the tip of his cock, stroking it and teasing with his tongue. He imagined what Din’s face looked like when Luke opened his mouth wide and consumed him, full girth and full length, using his tongue to drag friction along the shaft.

Din grunted hard behind the helmet and he clumsily pulled off his leather gloves and let them fall with a slap to the floor. Bare fingers raked into Luke’s hair, and the Jedi hummed at the sensation, his voice running through the other as his head began to bob. He sill hadn’t memorized every line, every texture, but he wanted to, and he indulged in the salty electric taste of the precum that trickled down his throat.

The faster Luke worked him, the harder Din was breathing. He was getting close, it was charging the very air around them, and he was hard himself.

Then something else fired through the air, something jarring and disruptive. He stopped, withdrawing and absently dragging the back of his hand over his mouth as he simply listened.

When he stopped, Din had paused too, breathless. “ _What… what is it…?_ ”

“Something’s wrong.” He didn’t know what, but it didn’t matter.

Din was already tucking everything back into place, straightening his clothes, the blank T-visor fixed on the Jedi as he pulled on his gloves one at a time. The Force was speaking to Luke, telling him to get up and move. He rose to his feet, his lightsaber flying into his hand from the pile that was his flight suit. He stood still, his chin dipped, his eyes closing. He listened through the Force, following the whispers that were warning him of some unknown, quiet danger.

It spoke with clarity, his eyes opened and he inhaled. “The children.”

He didn’t have to wait for Din. He was already heading for the door, the bounty hunter close behind and drawing his blaster pistol. Luke ran and Din followed down the hall to Ben’s room. The door was already open, he could hear Ben laughing and the cheerful squeaks of the Child along with him. Luke came to a breathless halt in the doorway, the two children stopping immediately to look up at him confusedly.

“Uncle Luke?” Ben said meekly, as if he feared getting in trouble.

“ _What’s going on?_ ” Din was at his back, looking from him to the children.

“Luke!” Leia was suddenly running up from behind, one hand gripping her skirt, the other holding a blaster. “You felt it to?”

“I still feel it…” Luke said, looking around the room.

It was heavy, constricting. Then, for a striking instance, he felt silence. His body moved, he dove to the floor, his arms and body around both children seconds before the wall was blown inward, metal screaming and stone shattering into the room, choking the air with dust and smoke.

“Ben! Luke!” Leia screamed, coughing after.

Luke was only aware of the weight on his body when Din pulled the debris off.

“I’m okay…” Luke grunted the half truth.

In that fraction of a moment that Luke covered them, Ben had pulled the Child against him. They all unfurled from each other, confused and wide eyed with concern. But the kids had admirable calm. Din gently took the child from Ben’s arms, clutching him close and in the protection of his beskar.

Luke took Ben in his arms, his nephew’s arms around his neck, legs around his waist. Leia was upon them both, her arms encircling them as she kissed her son gratefully. She raised her blaster and looked to the crumbling hole in the wall that was letting in the fiery glow of the sunset.

Luke followed her gaze. There was an ex-Imperial gunship deploying Death Troopers, they were repelling down, but before they could even touch the entrance they had blown in the wall of Ben’s room. The troopers came dropping on wires, only to be knocked out of sight by the shower of blasts from the Mandalorian and General Organa. All but one black-armored trooper dropped off the ledge to fall countless feet. The last one was saved by the grip of the Force, and Luke pulled him to safety.

Well, “safety” was relative. There were blasters pointed at his head. Luke had no reason to draw his lightsaber, he had learned to be frugal with the weapon, to respect it. So instead he stood over the trooper, little Ben still perched on his hip.

“Tell me who ordered this attack,” he spoke softly, but his words permeated into the trooper, suggesting very strongly with the Force that he answer with plain truth.

“ _Moff… Gideon…_ ” the Death Trooper clutched at the hole in his armor, angry at his honesty.

“ _Gideon_.” Din’s voice was hoarse.

“You know him?” asked Leia.

“ _He was after the kid… He’s supposed to be dead_.”

“ _He’s after the children,_ ” said the Death Trooper. “ _He wants them both, he says they’re special_.”

They could hear the assault falling on Hanna City. It was under attack and the Death Troopers were marching their way. More troop transports were flying in. How were there so many Imperial ships left?

Din fired one shot into the Trooper’s helmet, killing him.

“Luke… you have to get Ben out of here,” Leia said it as a command, but he could feel the fear that iced over her. “Please. You and Din Djarin, take the children, get them as far away from here as possible. We’ll hold them off.”

“Leia—”

“Luke, don’t be stupid. You can protect him!” She was moving around the room, filling a bag with Ben’s clothes and a toy or two.

“Mom…?” Ben’s voice was small, he finally loosened his grip on Luke to reach for her across the room.

“Ben, sweetie…” she was beside him at a moment, letting the boy climb into her arms and hold on for dear life. She buried her face into his black hair, her eyes wet, but determined. She kissed him a few times and looked to Luke, silently asking again.

Luke nodded. If anyone could face a whole garrison, it was Leia. And if he truly wanted to help her, he would get her son as far away from here as possible. After years of being pursued by the Empire and Darth Vader, Luke knew a thing or two about laying low.

“ _If we’re going, we need to go now,_ ” Din’s voice was sharp through his helmet. “ _Do you have enough weapons?_ ”

“This house has an arsenal and staff who can use it,” Leia said without a beat, setting Ben onto his feet and strapping the backpack onto his shoulders.

“ _Quickest exit is through there,_ ” Din nodded at the hole in the wall. It gave them a clear sight of the landing pad where the _Razor Crest_ waited.

Luke leaned out to gauge the drop. It was an easy way out. “Din, can your jetpack handle the weight of both the children?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Din didn’t even have to ask why.

Ben wouldn’t let go of her hand, even though she tried to gently pry herself free.

“I’m staying…” Ben said sternly.

“It’s too dangerous…” Luke could see her fighting to keep her frown away. She knelt in front of her son, her gown around her, the blaster at her side. “I need you to be brave, Ben… Go with Luke and Din Djarin. They’ll watch over you until I come and find you…”

She kissed him one last time and turned him by the shoulders. Din, with the small green child cradled in one arm, lowered to one knee, a gloved hand out towards Ben. The boy hesitated, looking from his mother to the blank t-visor. Finally he moved forward with purpose, his arms closing around the Mandalorian’s neck as he was lifted off the ground. Luke knew with every fiber of his being that his nephew couldn’t be safer.

“We’ll cover you from here,” Leia said. “Go!”

Din stepped to the edge of the hole in the wall and looked out, surveying the fall. He then looked to Luke, and the Jedi could feel his doubts.

“I’ll be right behind you,” Luke nodded confidently.

Din ignited his jetpack and lifted off the edge of the blasted wall, flying out into the open air of the courtyard. His arms were full, he couldn’t fire back at the troopers. But Leia more than covered him, her blaster taking out any and all weapons that pointed at the bounty hunter. Her instincts were sharp. Luke took to a short sprint and swan-dived out the window.

He smoothed his trajectory by tucking inward, somersaulting and straightening out just in time for his boots to hit the ground, his knees bending on impact to take the brunt of it. Before he even hit the ground, his lightsaber screamed to life, deflecting blaster bolts and kindly returning them at their owners to scare them into ducking for cover but not kill them. 

The _Crest’s_ ramp was down and he saw Ben run inside to safety with the Child in his arms. Din, meanwhile, positioning himself at the opening, his blaster out and firing in all directions. Luke made a straight line for the ramp, charging past Din to get inside so that they could close it and go. Din ascended the ramp with backwards steps, firing along the way. He reached for the button when—

“Waaaaaaait!”

C-3PO and R2-D2 were speeding towards them, the astromech zipping along, and the protocol droid shuffling with excruciating slowness, streaks of blaster bolts flying past them in all directions.

“Hurry, Threepio!” Luke shouted at him, his voice grating a little with impatience.

“Don’t leave without us!”

Artoo sped up the ramp so fast that he was air born for a moment before clunking onto the floor of the _Crest’s_ hold, and it was a moment before Threepio finally reached them. Din yanked him in by his gold arm and shut the door.

The Mandalorian wasted no time. He was already climbing up the rungs of the ladder to the cockpit and firing up the thrusters before he even sat down in the pilot’s seat. Luke checked on the children. Ben was afraid, but putting on a brave face. The green child was clutching onto the boy, but there seemed to be a glimmer of amusement in the baby’s eyes in all the chaos.

The ship jolted hard as it lifted off, C-3PO tipping over with another dramatic scream. Luke managed to grip the wall before falling on his face. The ship was jerking again, but in short spurts as the guns fired. Luke could hear the engine grating and the guns heating up. This rust bucket of a ship was hanging on by a thread. It gave him a bad feeling, although he had misjudged ships before. It was no _Falcon_ , but it managed to escape Chandrila and their pursuers. They broke into lightspeed.


	2. We Are One When Parted

So much for dinner.

It was a good thing that Luke had transferred his belongings onto the _Razor Crest_ when he did. With two hungry kids on the ship, he was able to dig into his rations to divide a meal between them. Neither boy looked particularly happy, but neither complained as they were huddled in the space of the sleeping berth. They were small enough to fit together, even if Ben had to tuck in his longer legs. They looked to each other as they nibbled on the meal sticks, and Luke watched as they seemed to make a silent game out of taking turns biting, as if daring each other to finish the less-than-tasty food. 

They were eating, which would keep up their strength, and that was all that mattered. While they were occupied, Luke moved towards another part of the ship, waving Artoo to follow him. The droid beeped and followed. Luke knelt in front of him.

“Artoo, can you use the communications on this ship to send out a message to the _Falcon_?”

Artoo whistled an affirmative.

“Good. I’ll record the message now, then…” he kept his voice low, to not draw the interest of the boys who were giggling nearby. When R2-D2 indicated that he was ready, Luke began. “Hey Han. I don’t know if Leia has been able to contact you yet, or if she will be able to at all. Chandrila’s been attacked by Imperial Troops who were after Ben…” He paused, trying to think of a concise way to explain Din Djarin and his son in the mix. He decided to leave it out for now. “He’s with me now, safe and well, and I’ll find a safe place to lay low. Leia stayed behind to protect the city, but your son needs you. I’m hoping to scramble our signal to avoid detection, but I’ll call you again soon. Wait for my call. May the Force be with you.”

The recording stopped and Artoo dutifully moved to the wall to plug into a socket and send out the message.

C-3PO was loitering nearby. “Master Luke, what will happen to us now?”

“We need to keep our heads down, Threepio,” Luke said simply.

“Oh dear… and here I thought our days of running and hiding were over. What a fool I was to have such hopes…”

Artoo beeped sharply at the protocol droid.

“You’re quite right, Artoo. As long as we are together with Master Luke, we will be all right. But I do worry about the princess. What if—”

“Never mind, Threepio,” Luke pushed himself to his feet. The last thing he needed was C-3PO’s pessimism reaching Ben. “Leia will be just fine. If anything, you should be worrying about those troopers.”

Ben was looking at him from across the space of the hold, his eyes large, his jaw moving a little as he chewed. Luke winked at him, to reassure him, but the boy only looked down into his lap. The green Child was rolling forward from where he sat, three tiny fingers reaching for the container with the rations. One at a time, he was popping nuts into his mouth. At least the little one had an appetite.

“Hey, Threepio…” Luke approached the droid. “Can you cheer up the kids with a story? Tell them the one about Endor or something… Just, keep it clean.”

“Understood, Master Luke. It would be my pleasure.” The droid shuffled towards the berth and addressed the children.

Luke started to climb the ladder to the cockpit, when Ben’s voice made him pause.

“I don’t wanna hear that one again, Threepio… I _know_ this story…”

“Oh. Very well, then, Master Ben. Is there a story you would like to hear?”

“The one about Yavin! With the Death Star!” The distraction seemed to be working, Ben had some light in his eyes again. He looked to the Child and leaned closer to him. “The Empire had a _giant_ weapon, the size of a _whole_ planet, and it could blow up other planets…”

The green child watched him with large eyes, blinking, his ears twitching up and down intently. Luke was glad to see that the kids were occupied, but Ben wasn’t old enough to truly understand that these stories were real. That giant weapon that he was excited about had destroyed his mother’s home planet, killed his grandparents, was the place where his own grandfather murdered his namesake, Ben Kenobi, the place where his biological grandfather had killed the Emperor, and also perished…

Luke shuddered and shook it off. Ben was too young. Maybe one day he’d be able to understand, far in the future. Luke was young and naive once, too.

While the boys were being entertained by Threepio, Luke climbed up the rungs of the ladder that led up into the cockpit. It was dark, the display of lights framed the transparisteel, a Mandalorian silhouette in the middle, indicators gleaming off the beskar surface. Lit up in front of the pilot’s seat was a small hologram of a human woman. Even as a tiny blue ghost, Luke could tell she was beautiful and very powerfully built. She had the mark of a shocktrooper tattooed on her right bicep, an instant tell that she was an ally.

“ _…it’s been quiet here,_ ” she was saying, her thumbs hooked on a gun belt. “ _We have all our eyes and ears open for even a whisper. You didn’t actually see him though, right?_ ”

“ _No,_ ” said Din. “ _I didn’t see his body on Nevarro, either._ ”

“ _We’ve searched his crashed TIE fighter. It’s been scrapped to its frames by the Jawas, but… there was no body. If Gideon’s still out there, we’ll be ready for him. If we hear anything, I’ll contact you. Be safe, Din.”_

“ _You too._ ”

The transmission ended and Din’s shoulders rose and fell with a heavy sigh. Luke moved closer behind the pilot’s seat. He couldn’t see the T-visor of Din’s face from here. 

“Who was she?” Luke asked.

Din’s helmet snapped around, clearly startled.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you…”

“ _It’s fine. Just a little on edge... She’s a friend. Her name’s Carasinthya Dune. She helped us out, saved our lives more than once. We can trust her._ ”

It was enough for Luke if Din said they could trust her. “I hope you don’t mind, I asked Artoo to plug into the ship to send out a message to Han. You remember Han?”

“ _Yup._ ”

The tone was enough to confirm it. But that terseness lingered from the call with Carasinthya Dune.

“Do you want to tell me who Moff Gideon is?”

Din’s hand tightened a little on the control. “ _He’s a monster. He has a small army of Imps under his command, I have no idea how big, but they’re armed well enough for skirmishes and guerrilla attacks… He’s responsible for what happened to Mandalore. He’s the reason why we were forced to live in the sewers, scattered across the galaxy like rodents. He’s dangerously strategic and resourceful and he has no honor…_ ”

Anger and fear were radiating from Din like ultraviolet heat, it was roiling in him and Luke didn’t need to see his gloved hands trembling in their grip on the stick to tell how upset he was.

“ _He wants the kid—both kids—and I still don’t know why. I don’t know what he wants with them, all I can do is keep them safe until they can fend for themselves..._ ”

“We will keep them safe…” Luke agreed gently, hoping to quell a little of that boiling rage.

“ _And now my ship has DROIDS on it!_ ” Din growled and kicked at a panel under the controls. The sound of bolts clattering could be heard somewhere in the dark by his feet. 

“Hey…” Luke put his hand on Din’s shoulder, finding the space between armor to squeeze. “We’re in this together, remember? You’re not in this alone anymore.”

“ _Do we have to have the droids?_ ”

“Yeah… Sorry, they’re a package deal.”

Din sighed again. Somewhere beneath the layers of cape and tunic, Luke could feel the rock-hard tension of his shoulder. He moved behind the chair so that he could reach the Mandalorian on each side where shoulder met neck. He pinched there, kneading firmly but gently.

“ _What are you doing…?_ ”

“Trying to get the knots out of your shoulders. If you don’t relax, you’ll never have a clear mind…”

“ _My mind is very clear._ ”

“I can feel the hatred in you, Din… You’re considering something brash, I can tell.”

“ _Your Jedi powers telling you that?_ ”

Luke thought he heard a hint of mockery in there, the same kind he always heard from people who were skeptical or did not understand the Force. He smiled, even though Din couldn’t see it.

“That and simple observation…” he continued to massage, and Din wasn’t fighting him off. He wasn’t relaxing either.

“ _When we find a good place to lay low, I’m leaving the kids and the droids with you. Just long enough for me to hunt down Gideon and kill him._ ”

Luke’s hands stopped. “You’re joking, right?”

“ _Gideon is my enemy, and he is a threat so long as he is alive. If I’m to protect my clan, he needs to die. This is the way._ ”

“The ‘way’?” Luke moved to stand beside the pilot seat so that he could face Din—that is, let Din see the look of absolute disapproval on his face. “You’re willing to leave your son behind to go on a revenge mission?”

Din didn’t look at him, he continued to look out at the stars. “ _I might._ ” It didn’t sound convincing.

Luke took in a deep breath through his nose, to subdue the irritation that was beginning to fester under his skin.

“Din, you can’t allow your hatred to dictate your decisions…” he lowered onto his knees beside the chair, his hand on the bounty hunter’s leg. “Revenge isn’t the answer…”

“ _You don’t understand, Luke…_ ” Din’s voice was tight. “ _I found my tribe slaughtered and scattered to the wind. He has taken everything._ ”

“Not everything,” Luke kindly corrected. “You still have your boy. And he still has you right now. He needs you, and you know it.”

Din didn’t answer.

“Besides,” Luke wrapped and around around Din’s leg, as if to anchor him. “I understand better than you think. I’ve lost people to the Empire, too. I left Tatooine because they burned down my home and my family. I didn’t have anything left either. All I knew was that someone needed me, and that’s where I went.”

Finally, Din looked at him, his blank face dipping down towards him. “ _I’m sorry…_ ”

“Don’t be. We’ve all lost something by now. Which is all the more reason that we have to protect what we have.”

Content silence fell between them, though it tingled with apprehension. The percolating energy that was Din’s anger was finally calming.

“ _How are they?_ ” Din said after a pause, and he didn’t need to specify that he was referring to the children.

“They seem alright…” Luke sighed, his cheek on Din’s thigh. “I don’t think they understand enough to be afraid. I fed them and Threepio’s keeping them entertained.”

“ _Good._ ”

The noncommittal reply, and Din’s indifference to Luke at his feet made it seem as though he wanted nothing more than to be alone. Luke took the hint and stood. He didn’t even have the chance to move, though, when a leather-gloved hand seized his wrist, gently.

“ _Stay?_ ”

Luke’s heart skipped and he smiled and nodded. The grip on his wrist moved to his hand, fingers linking together. Meanwhile, Din’s free hand was punching a few buttons, throwing a couple of switches. He was putting the _Crest_ on autopilot, and shutting the hatch that separated the cockpit from the hold below. 

He firmly pulled Luke to sit on him, Luke’s back to Din’s chest. He had no choice but to sit with his knees far apart in Din’s lap, his ass nestled right on the bounty hunter’s groin.

Din’s arms were around him, his hand swimming over Luke’s torso, chest, and between his legs. Even with all the layers of clothing and armor, Luke felt as though he was immolating. He hummed quietly, reaching down to find the material of Din’s pants where there was no armor on his strong thighs, it was the only place he could comfortably reach. Only with his left hand could he truly feel and appreciate the taught muscle there, and he kneaded it as Din began to knead him between his legs.

They were robbed of their time together on Chandrila, maybe they could steal a few minutes here. They had to be quick and quiet.

Din’s hand rubbed and squeezed where it was cupped between Luke’s legs and the young Jedi was hard and straining under his grip. He was writhing, pushing on the toes of his black boots so that he could grind down into Din’s lap, against that hardness he felt under him. Din grunted hard in appreciation.

Luke was panting. With two hands he grabbed at the hand between his legs and pulled off the leather glove, exposing the flesh of Din’s calloused hand. He then guided it beneath his waistband, into his pants so that he could feel the warmth of skin around him. He needed it so badly, to breech the separation that was always there between then. The Mandalorian was happy to oblige, his fingers wrapping around Luke’s manhood and stroking firmly, evenly.

A small sound escaped from the back of Luke’s throat as he tried to keep it in, his eyes rolling back into his skull and his body pushing back into Din so fervently he may have been trying to merge with him, body and soul. Din was pumping him with one hand, the other across his chest, rough leather fingertips brushing the Jedi’s throat. Luke reached back, his hand hooking behind Din’s neck and holding on tight. 

It occurred to him, briefly, that if this kept up he was going to come then and there. Oh, he didn’t care. He never wanted Din to stop touching him. He wanted all of Din touching him, inside of him… He was gasping, and as he rutted back against the bounty hunter again, he could hear the sharp breaths in the helmet.

Something beeped. They ignored it, still grinding, gasping, and Luke was dizzy with the growing frenzy.

It beeped again, this time there was a tapping then a small voice through the closed hatch.

“Uncle Luke…?”

Luke and Din stopped, tense, holding their breaths.

“Uncle Luke, the baby is eating all the food!”

“ _Can’t you send him away?_ ” Din whispered breathlessly.

Luke had to take deep breaths, to bring himself back to reality. Which was difficult with Din’s hand still holding his cock. Oh, how he wanted to send Ben away, but he couldn’t in good conscience. Especially not when everything he had learned so far about being a Jedi was selflessness and not prioritizing selfish desires. He desired Din so badly he could scream.

“Um…” Luke’s voice shook, unable to find words. “Uh… J-just a minute, Ben!”

“Can’t I come in?” Ben whined. “I don’t like being down here with Threepio…”

Din scoffed, almost a laugh as he obviously sympathized. They both sighed heavily and slowly unraveled from each other. Everything had drawn so close, he was overheated and unsatisfied, and he couldn’t help the frustration that gnawed under his skin. He tried to be mindful about their situation, to remain calm and understanding… but all he wanted was 5 or 10 uninterrupted minutes with Din.

They required a couple of minutes to cool their blood and make themselves presentable, neither of them saying another word. They didn’t need to. Luke knew Din was as wound up and agitated as he was—perhaps more so.

When he opened the hatch, Ben was perched quite comfortably at the top of the ladder, his legs and arms curled into the rungs, his face up at him with those large dark eyes of his. Ben quickly climbed downward, more graceful than his lanky limbs should have allowed. Luke climbed down the ladder after him and C-3PO was shuffling around the hold, throwing up his arms.

“Oh! Master Luke! I _tried_ to stop him from eating the rest of your rations, but he _wouldn’t listen_ to me in any language! Oh, no one ever listens to me…”

Ben stood behind his uncle, pointing at the scene nearby. On the floor was the Child, both of his hands gripping the mostly empty container of rations on one side, R2-D2 gripping it with his utility arm on the other in a tug o’ war, beeps and squawks coming from the astromech that Luke had heard and seen transcribed enough times to know they were obscenities.

“Artoo! Watch your language, there are children here…”

Luke was sharply reminded of his first encounter with Master Yoda, who had also stolen some of his food and a flashlight, and had beaten poor Artoo with a stick. 

There was a light clang as Din stepped down on both feet behind Luke after descending from the cockpit. The Mandalorian brushed past him and knelt behind his son.

“ _Hey, we talked about this…_ ” his voice was soft, but stern behind the helmet. “ _Knock it off._ ”

The Child tilted his head back to look up at his father, his large ears dropping down. He let out a protesting squeak, still pulling at the container. Din’s gloved hands gently pried free those three green fingers and he picked up his boy, setting him into the pram that was set nearby. Hands on his hips he looked down at the baby.

“ _Look, I know you’re hungry… But those rations are all we have right now. We can’t afford to be making stops to get food at every planet, you got that?_ ”

The baby buried himself into his blankets, looking sheepishly up at his father as nothing but a fuzzy, wrinkled green head with eyes, his ears down so low they were like folded wings. The look was heartbreaking and any annoyance Luke might have felt for the kids was gone.

“It’s alright, Din, we’ll get more food.”

Din sighed heavily. “ _Yeah… Okay, kid, time to sleep…_ ” his voice softened and he reached into the pram to untangle the baby from his blanket, so that he could better wrap him in it.

Getting picked up and wrapped like some kind of sausage seemed to cheer up the child. His ears were perked up and he trilled a little when he was lifted and set back down. Din tucked him in and placed his hand atop the baby’s torso. The Child was comforted by the weight there, held in place without being crushed. Luke could feel the warmth from them both. It felt safe.

“Do I have to sleep too, Uncle Luke?” Ben said from Luke’s side.

When he looked to his nephew, the boy did indeed look wide awake, his hands wringing at the hem of his shirt.

“Well, it would be your usual bedtime right about now, wouldn’t it?” It must have been well after dark on Chandrila.

“No...” Well, that was a lie.

“Then what do you think you’ll do instead?” Luke tried not to smile as he said it.

Ben’s eyes dropped towards the floor, and after a thoughtful pause, he gave a heavy shrug.

“I can read to you if you like. Get your mind off things so you can sleep.”

“Read what?” Ben sounded skeptical.

“About the Jedi. I have a few books.”

“Books?”

Of course Ben was only familiar with flimsiplast, holocomms, and viewscreens. There was no need for books of paper and ink that far in the Core. Luke had fond memories of Aunt Behru reading him stories from books when he was Ben’s age, and he smiled as he waved his nephew to follow him. Ben was curious, at least, but there was a hint of a frown for being kept in the dark as Luke maintained some of the mystery.

He led the way to the crates he had transferred from his X-Wing, and he opened one up. The books were wrapped carefully to protect them. After all, they were delicate and ancient. He held it for Ben to see and the boy showed no intent on touching them as he leaned over it, inspecting it closely.

“That’s a book?”

“Yeah. It’s one way to record information and pass it down for generations without relying on archives or recorded data, which can be lost in a moment…” He lightly thumbed open its pages to show the script inside and the sketches.

“You can read it?” asked Ben.

“Some of it. A lot of it is very old, I need to learn how to translate it… I can read you what I know, if you like.”

Ben seemed unsure. Instead his attention shifted upward, to look at Din who was nearby, his hand still in the pram. Luke could hear the soft huffs of the baby sleeping. Obviously Din was too afraid to take his hand away lest the child woke up. He was more or less stuck there.

“Are you a Jedi too?” Ben asked him.

“ _No_.” Din didn’t even hesitate.

“Then what are you?”

“He’s Din Djarin,” Luke chuckled.

“I know, but what is he? Everyone is something, aren’t they?”

“ _I’m a Mandalorian and a bounty hunter_ ,” Din answered.

Ben didn’t understand what either of those things were, it was clear in the stillness of his face. “Is the helmet for hunting or because you’re a… a Mandarian?”

“ _Mandalorian_ ,” Din corrected patiently. “ _I use it for hunting, but I wear it to hide my face. It’s part of my creed._ ”

“I want a helmet. Do I need a creed?”

Luke smiled and looked to Din, gesturing to him in deference, to let him offer up an answer.

Din sighed. “ _You can wear whatever kind of helmet you want without a creed. Just don’t wear a Mandalorian helmet if you aren’t a Mandalorian._ ”

“Okay…” Ben said with some disappointment. “Can I try your helmet?”

“ _No._ ”

Ben seemed to have forgotten all about the books.

“We’ll get you a helmet of your own one day,” Luke patted the back of Ben’s shoulder.

Ben looked up at him, then to Din. “Am I with you forever now? Will I see Mom again?”

“Of course,” Luke said gently, lowering down to a knee beside him. “We’re going to find your dad, too.”

Ben frowned hard and Luke could feel the energy around him close in, tighten and coil. The boy didn’t speak, he just moved away from Luke’s touch and past Din towards the sleeping berth. He climbed inside, grabbing the old blanket that was in there and wrapping himself up in it as best he could as he laid down, his feet towards them in the compartment.

Din looked to Luke, the T-Visor betraying no expression until it tilted just a little, a silent indication that Ben’s less-than-subtle reaction needed to be addressed. Luke nodded in agreement. He followed Ben, passing Din with a touch to the part of his waist where no armor shielded him. Luke propped an arm above the opening of the sleeping berth and peered inside. Ben was lying down, but his eyes were open.

“What’s on your mind, kid?”

“Nothing. Go away, I’m sleeping.”

“Aren’t you happy about seeing your dad?”

He felt it again, that coiling.

“Ben. Talk to me.”

Ben pulled the blanket up, which exposed his legs, but his face was hidden now. That seemed to make it easier for him to speak, when he thought he wasn’t seen.

“I don’t think Dad likes me.”

“What? That’s crazy. Of course he does. He loves you.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

Luke knew Han well enough to know that the man wasn’t incapable of showing affection, it was just in bursts of moments between facetious and cryptic behavior. Han arguably shielded himself more than any Mandalorian when it came to laying bare his feelings, and it hurt to think that extended to his own son as well. But then, Luke was never around to witness how the father and son interacted. And the memories he had of his own father were… well… incomparable.

“I _know_ your father loves you, Ben. Take my word for it that dads just have a funny way of showing it sometimes. Even if they don’t say it, they can show it in a lot of little ways, even if that means being away for awhile.”

“You mean… Dad is always gone _because_ he loves me?”

Luke couldn’t know that. He didn’t know what kept Han off planet so often, all he knew was that it upset Leia too. “Well… Possibly…” he said honestly, but with as positive a tone as he could muster.

“Then I wish he didn’t love me,” Ben said quietly under his blanket. “Then maybe he would be home more.”

“Ben…” Luke’s heart ached. He recognized that painful yearning that was crushing his nephew, to have a father who seemed lost and gone.

Ben pulled his legs in under the blanket, curling in and disappearing under it. He sniffed quietly, and Luke could tell he didn’t want anyone to know he was crying. There was nothing he could say to comfort the boy right now. He was away from home, away from his parents with an uncle he barely knew. Luke left him alone, hoping he that if he was going to cry, he would at least cry himself to sleep. He would need the rest.

A hand weighed heavily on his shoulder. It was Din. His helmet tipped towards the ladder for the cockpit before he climbed up. Luke followed. The hold was quiet now as they children slept and the droids powered down. Din was back in the pilot’s seat, swiveling to face forward to glance over the readings and controls, making sure everything was stable and on course.

There was a cloud churning inside Luke from that conversation with Ben.

He was thinking about his own father. The stormtroopers. Moff Gideon. Things his father had once commanded. Things that were responsible for the horrific losses in Din’s history, as much as anyone else’s in the galaxy. For the first time in awhile, he felt the bite of shame to be a part of that lineage. He sat in the secondary chair, slouched forward, unconsciously staring at his gloved hand.

He promised Han and Leia he would look after Ben, and he promised Din he would help him with his child.

What right did he have to assume this kind of responsibility? The self-proclaimed “last of the Jedi”?

“ _You should sleep,_ ” Din’s modulated voice stirred him from his thoughts. “ _We’ll take turns._ ”

Luke nodded. Not since the rebellion did he have to take turns on a watch, but he knew the importance of rest. He slouched back in the hard chair, turning so that he could bring up his legs, arms folded in tight against him, his head leaning to the side against the back of the chair. His eyes were closed, but he could not quiet his mind.

_Find serenity. Do not let your emotions stir you into chaos._

Leia’s family was scattered and the separation was causing Ben so much pain that Luke could not help feeling it too. 

“Din…?” he said softly.

“ _Yeah?_ ” Din’s voice was so gentle.

“I’m glad we’re together.” He didn’t know why he needed to say it, but his eyes were open again looking towards the Mandalorian’s back. 

Din swiveled his chair enough to look over his armored shoulder, half of his helmet visible.

“ _Yeah. Me too…_ ”

That was enough. Everything calmed and Luke closed his eyes.


	3. We Share All

They were three standard days in hyderdrive, and though they were still a long way from the outer rim, but at least they were even farther from the Core at this point. It was easier to hide out here. What little rations they had left had been given to the kids, the last of it divided between them a few hours ago. They needed to find food. There was also the the fact that the _Razor Crest_ was beginning to click and hiss in ways that were not normal. One look at the indicators and Luke could see that it was overheating from prolonged use of hyperdrive.

“ _We need to drop out of lightspeed_ ,” Din said, the T-visor turning two and fro to read the sensors and gauges.

“You think so?” Luke didn’t mean to be snarky. He had suggested the same thing a day ago.

“ _I said the_ Crest _could make it this far—and it has_.” Din’s voice was curt.

Luke sighed.

They were both hungry, tired, and grumpy. This had also been the most time they had ever spent together, and the longest they had been together without being able to have any intimacy. Luke tried to tell himself that this was a true test to see if they were in fact meant to be more to each other than physical escapism. No sex to distract them. For all he knew, Din was actually a very obnoxious and terrible person to be around on a daily basis, in spite of the honor and general light that seemed to emit from beneath that polished beskar. After all, with faceless armor, it was easy to project one’s own idealized version of who Din Djarin really was. 

What might have been worse, what if Din found _Luke_ to be the intolerable one and would change his mind about having him on the _Crest_?

That sort of insecurity was hazardous to one’s connection to the Force. He tried to banish it, to focus instead on why they were here together, now. 

“ _Might want to make sure the little ones are secure. We’ll drop out of hyperdive in two minutes and it gets a bit rough._ ”

That wasn’t surprising with this ship. Luke nodded and slipped out of the passenger seat. He descended from the cockpit and nearly tripped on the kids playing. He grabbed hold of the dangling netting and chuckled, even though it pained his empty stomach.

“Alright, boys… I need you to strap in, we’re about to drop out of lightspeed. Artoo you might want to clamp down… Here, Threepio, I’ll buckle you in…”

“Oh, thank you, Master Luke!” The protocol droid happily sat down on one of the hold benches and patiently waited his turn while Luke strapped Ben in first, making sure his small frame was secure.

The baby was already reaching for Luke, and he put the green child into his pram, his three fingered hands holding on tight, his wrinkled face hard set, apparently used to the drill. Luke turned to finally help Threepio next when the ship lurched. He immediately braced himself, balancing in the violent toss of the ship, his training paying off in helping him stay on his feet.

C-3PO was not so lucky. With a scream the gold droid tipped forward and clashed onto the floor. The ship’s hyperdrive let out a whine so loud it was deafening in the hold, steam hissing somewhere, and a low creaking in its hull. Ben was wincing with his hands clasped over his ears, the baby burying his head into his pram.

“This thing is going to fall to pieces…” Luke grumbled to himself as he stooped down to help pull Threepio off the floor with a grunt. “Sorry, Threepio… You okay?”

“Will I ever be?” said the droid with forlorn. He was fine.

Luke ran his thumb across the new scuff on his gold plating. Well, it didn’t stand out from the other wear and tear. The whine of the hyperdrive was turning into a scream and R2-D2 was letting out series of complex whistles and beeps.

“Artoo says that the ship may be in need a lot of repairs, Master Luke…” Threepio translated.

“I think he’s right.”

Luke moved to the wall panel where he thought he might be able to access its circuits. Instead the doors opened to a fully equipped armory. It was enough to arm a squadron of mercenaries. He had no idea Din carried that many weapons, but he shouldn’t have been surprised. Latching it shut again he moved to the ladder and looked up through the hatchway.

“Din!” he had to shout over the noise.

The next thing he knew the Mandalorian was sliding down the ladder and dropping beside him.

“ _Hyperdrive’s overheated!_ ”

Luke opened his mouth, sarcasm ready to fly out of it, but he clamped a hand over it and redirected his response.

“Need a hand?”

“ _I got this. There’s a call for you in the cockpit…_ ” Din dropped to a knee and pulled the plating from the floor, exposing the ships innards. The steam rose in a plume and fogged the front of his helmet.

“A call for me?”

“ _It’s Solo._ ”

“Han!” Luke bolted for the ladder. He was halfway up when he stopped to look back into the hold. “Let Artoo help you, Din! He’s good at this sort of thing, remember?”

“ _I can handle this!_ ” Din growled as he leaned down, his arms disappearing into the floor, his back to Luke. “ _I don’t need a droid getting in my way…_ ”

R2-D2 whistled, his photoreceptor turning towards Luke. He gestured with his gloved hand, pointing to Din. Artoo tipped twice in a nod of acknowledgment to stand by. 

Luke practically flew into the cockpit and found the light beeping steadily with a call on hold. Shutting the door to the cockpit, it helped drown out at least some of the ship’s screaming. Things were still beeping all over the place in the cockpit. He hit the button as he dropped into the pilot’s seat. It was all audio.

“Han! It’s Luke!”

“ _Hey, kid. What’s going on over there, what’s all that noise?_ ”

If Han knew they were flying in a ship worse than the _Millennium Falcon_ , they might never hear the end of it.

“Space interference,” Luke lied.

“ _You know I’ve been trying to hail you for FOUR DAYS? I hope I’m not interrupting your honeymoon._ ”

So he knew Din was with him. That must have meant he talked to Leia. Luke had reached out through the Force and felt that she was alive and well, but under what circumstances he didn’t know. There was an equally agitated Wookiee growl in the background.

“Hi Chewie. How’s Leia?”

“ _She’s got everything under control. They pushed back the ex-imps, captured a couple of the poor bastards. Who the hell are these mudscuppers and what do they want with my son?_ ”

“I’m not sure. But I’m beginning to get some kind of an idea. This Moff Gideon person is interested in Force sensitive children… I don’t see how that can possibly be a good thing.”

“ _Leia tells me your friend has a kid like Ben. Is Ben there with you now?_ ”

“He’s down in the hold with Din and the droids. He’s alright, though, Han, don’t worry. I’ll go get him—”

“ _No time. Gotta keep this short in case some of our dear friends decide to intercept. We’ve just left Bespin. What sector are you in?_ ”

“Sending it on the coded frequency… now.”

There was a pause as the information traveled instantaneously through the galaxy. Then there came a low whistle.

“ _You weren’t kidding, you guys really were making space tracks. Lucky for you, I know the area. There’s a system near there. Follow the vector I’m sending you… The system has five planets, one of them is Etall. Planet’s barren, but it’s third moon, the green one, is a great hiding place. I’ve used it many a time for smuggling operations back in the day. Best of all, there’s a natural magnetic interference around that moon that blocks any and all transmissions coming and going from the place, even fobs and homing beacons. You guys can lay low there, we’ll come to you. Got it?_ ”

Luke was punching in the vector on the nav computer. Sure enough, the grid map showed a system with five planets.

“Is there some kind of food supply there?”

“ _Yeah, there’s wildlife there… Just don’t eat the fruit. Trust me. Unless you want to spend the rest of the week in a vacc tube._ ”

He heard Chewbacca bark out a laugh.

“ _Hey! You were crouching in the bushes for days, too, fuzzball, so keep laughing!_ ”

Luke chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t eat the fruit, got it.”

“ _See you there, kid._ ”

“Thanks, Han. And… hurry, will you? Ben needs you.”

“ _Keep him safe for me, Luke._ ”

“I will. See you both soon.”

Back down into the hold he went and he was somewhat surprised to see Din and Artoo side by side on the floor, the droid’s manipulator arm extended down into the floor as he chirped happily doing what he did best, Din grunting a little behind his helmet as he tried to turn a particularly stubborn valve. Ben had unbuckled himself and was sitting on his knees on the floor, his skinny neck stretched to curiously look down into the floor.

“What happens if you don’t fix it?” the boy asked.

“ _It’ll explode._ ”

“Would that kill us?”

“ _Yup._ ”

“Would it happen fast? Or would we float in space and have all our air sucked out of us?”

“ _Depends…_ ” Din mumbled, the steam quieting as it was redirected through an exhaust vent into space.

“Depends on what?”

“ _On how close to the explosion you are. If the concussion from the explosion itself doesn’t do it, the impact of debris or hitting the bulkheads will. Or if you’re really close to it_ —”

“Are we done talking about dying?” Luke approached and sat on the floor beside Ben.

“Did you talk to my dad?” Ben seemed to have forgotten the morbid conversation as he looked to his uncle.

Luke smiled and nodded. “Yup. We’re going to meet him on a moon. Might take him a little time to get here, but he’s on his way now.”

The alarm indicators within the ship finally stopped, the hissing dying out into a low, healthy hum of engines. Din covered the floor again, his thumbs hooking on his belt as he looked down at Luke.

“ _What moon?_ ”

Luke found that he was comfortable on the floor, or maybe he was just that tired and hungry. He didn’t bother to get up just yet. 

“It’s called Etall. Han knows it, there’s interference that protects it from fobs and beacons. I already have the vector put into the nav computer.”

Din nodded his approval. “ _That’ll do… I’ll set the course._ ”

He moved to the pram where the baby was comfortably watching everyone, his eyes eternally large and curious. He smiled up at the Mandalorian.

“ _You good, womp rat?_ ”

His large ears rose and fell, his tiny hand reaching for his father. Din lifted the tiny child from his pram, perched him on his arm and headed for the ladder. Ben scrambled to his feet, his small hands clawing at Luke to get off his knees. He stomped behind Din.

“Can I come in the cockpit, too?”

Din and his child both looked to Ben, the baby trilling excitedly. Din sighed quietly, obviously realizing the children enjoyed each other’s company.

“ _Fine_.”

Luke watched as Din masterfully climbed the ladder with one hand, and Ben scrambled up behind him. For his part, Luke was tired, and the hold was so quiet, he was ready to drift away in it. He probably should have meditated or something, but a hard heavy sleep sounded like just the right thing. He stretched out on his back on the cold, hard floor, his eyes closed.

“I do hope Princess Leia is alright without us…” Threepio said suddenly. “She does have a way of getting into the most perilous situations all alone.”

“She’s okay, Threepio…” Luke knew it on feeling, not fact. But he was learning to understand the Force well enough to know that sometimes that was all one needed. A feeling.

* * *

The third moon of Etall was exactly how Han described it. Green and completely enveloped in magnetic field. It made the _Razor Crest’s_ instruments go berserk, but Din managed to fly her in through the cloud coverage and set her down gently in a field of tall grass.

In every direction there were pointed, gray mountains that looked possibly volcanic, which might have accounted for the luscious greenery surrounding it. There were streams and lakes every few miles, and the air was heavy with imminent rainfall. Though very little sunlight made it through the clouds, the planet was warm and tropical.

As the engines cooled and shut down, the ramp of the ship was set down. Luke stepped out first, alert and curious. Bellows and chirping of wildlife surrounded them from all directions, constant noise of a great, unseen population. This was a wild planet, so far there had been no indications of any type of civilization forming here. It was untouched by the wars. Peaceful.

He breathed in the fresh air and closed his eyes. The life of the planet seemed to sing through him in a way he had not felt since Dagobah. The Force was strong here.

Din stepped up beside him at the bottom of the ramp. He had his jet pack on. “ _I’ll do some reconnaissance and get us dinner._ ” 

“There’s a lot of electricity in the air…” Luke murmured, glancing back up at the sky. “Does beskar attract lightning?”

“ _I’ll be fine._ ”

Luke smirked at him. “I’ve heard you use that word before… Be careful.”

With both hands on each side of Din’s helmet, he touched his forehead to the metal and let the moment linger. Din’s gloved hands squeezed gently at Luke’s waist before they finally separated and he watched as Din’s jet pack ignited and he took off over the grassland and out of sight, his cape flapping over one shoulder like a standard.

No sooner had Din disappeared into the sky did a curtain of rain come down, crashing onto the grass so heavily that the mountains beyond were barely visible.

Before now, Luke didn’t consider how well a Mandalorian jet pack worked in a downpour, and now he had to worry if Din was falling to his death or forced to walk back to the ship.

Din was fine. He said he would be, and Luke was fairly certain the man had been in worse situations. For now, Luke had little ones to look after, both of which smelled like a rare sort of cheese from days in the ship together.

“Alright, Ben…” He looked to the boy who was peering out at the weather. “Time to shower.”

“Out there?”

“It’s really warm,” he said cheerfully, reaching his flesh hand out into the water that streamed off the top of the ship. “Come on, see for yourself.”

Ben followed suit, mirroring his uncle as he reached a tentative hand out into the falling water, his sleeve getting wet in the process. He pulled his hand back in, shaking it and wiping it on his shirt.

The rain was probably much colder on Chandrila, so the look of wonder on Ben’s face was a joy to see. Ben was given a small soap bar and a rag. Threepio was employed in holding up a curtain to offer Ben some privacy, so that he could get all of his clothes off for a thorough wash with the soap that Luke provided him with from his own supplies.

Luke was kneeling at the top of the ramp in the shelter of the ship, a small tub (which had apparently served as the baby’s pram at one point) filled halfway with the warm rainwater, the baby plunked into it for a good wash. The Child waved his hands over the surface of the water, fascinated with the ripples and the splashes as Luke scrubbed all his wrinkles and the fuzz on his head, and around his ears with suds.

“Make sure you’re scrubbing good with that cloth, Ben!” Luke called down the ramp.

“I know how to wash!” the boy shouted back from behind the curtain.

“I mean behind your ears, under your arms—”

“I _know_ , Uncle Luke!” Ben screamed it this time and he thought he saw a little first punch at the curtain.

Luke smiled to himself. It was impossible to tell if Ben’s attitude was inherited from his mother or father, but there was no denying his lineage.

Threepio, daintily holding each side of the makeshift curtain in his gold fingers, turned his round eyes to the Jedi. “If I may vouch for Master Ben, Master Luke, he is doing a very good job lathering and rinsing in this horrid weather…”

“Thanks, Threepio…” Luke lifted the naked green child from the soapy water and tipped the container to let the suds careen down the ramp.

“Time to rinse off, kiddo… Close your eyes tight.”

The baby spread his arms and legs out, as if to show he was ready, eyes pinching closed. Luke held him out under the light rainfall, letting the warm drops pour over him, the bubbles and the soap falling away. The baby sputtered at the water that trickled over his mouth, spraying Luke a little in the face.

“Hey!” he chuckled.

As soon as he seemed sud-free, Luke pulled him back in and wrapped him up in his blanket, patting him dry, digging into the shells of his giant ears to get the water out. All the while, the baby trilled and squeaked, babbling a little as Luke wiped his face dry so that water wouldn’t trickle into his enormous eyes.

“I hope your father comes back soon… and in one piece…” he murmured with a heavy sigh.

When Ben was finished washing himself, his bare feet slapped on the floor as he approached, wrapped in Luke’s black cloak, his dark hair a curled, wet mess on his head. He was shivering now and pulled the cloak over his head, tucking his feet into it.

Luke smiled to his grumpy nephew. “Come on… you feel better, right?”

Ben refused to answer.

“Unless you like smelling like bantha breath.”

“ _You_ smell like bantha breath…”

“Hey…” Luke scoffed a little, but couldn’t refute it. “You don’t even know what a bantha looks like, let alone what it smells like.”

“I do, too,” Ben argued. “I know because it’s what you smell like.”

“Now you’re just being mean…” Luke pulled the hood down over Ben’s face.

He moved to the open hatch again, looking out into the rain eagerly. After a while, he spotted Din. A tiny figure gradually growing as he flew nearer, the light of the jetpack trailing behind.

There was a flash, a bolt of lightning hit the Mandalorian dead on, and he dropped like a shot bird. In that moment, he felt it to, he could remember what it was like to be electrocuted, frayed down to every last nerve, his brain feeling as if it was being boiled in his skull. 

“Stay here!” Luke shouted at the kids and the droids alike as he charged out into the rain. 

He ran as hard and as fast as his legs could carry him, throwing aside the tall grass, every moment feeling as though that electricity would reach down and grab him.

“Din!” he shouted, half blind from the rainfall.

The silver-clad bounty hunter rose slowly from the grass, shaking his head. When Luke reached him, he immediately put a hand on each side of his helmet. It was scalding hot, and he retracted his hands with a wince. The beskar was smoking.

“Are you okay?”

The T-visor looked from Luke to the sky. “ _I think… I think I was struck by lightning…_ ”

He sounded confused.

“You think…?” Luke swiped back his blond hair from his eyes. “We better get you back insider before it happens again…”

“ _I’m fine. But I’ll have to walk from here…_ ”

Sure enough, his jet pack was effectively dead. After a quick search in the grass, they found the dead creature that Din had killed. The Mandalorian threw it over his shoulder and they walked together back towards the ship.

Along the way, Luke couldn’t help looking at the bounty hunter from time to time. His armor wasn’t steaming anymore, the water walling off the smooth surface in small streams, his cape and clothes soaked through, carrying the weight of the dead game and dead jetpack alike without a hitch in his step. Well, maybe a little hitch, he did fall a long way. Either way, he was a sight to behold and Luke was weak.

When they reached the ship, the Mandalorian moved purposefully as he got to work on the dead creature, a large rodent of some sort with powerful legs for jumping and large round ears. He skinned it at the mouth of the ship, to allow the rain to wash away the mess, and a heater was placed to cook it.

All four of them ate voraciously. Even though the meat was a bit chewy, it was some of the best Luke was sure he’d ever eaten. Din made sure to cut it into tiny pieces, which he fed to the child with a metal utensil. The baby ate as much as the rest of them and even tried to eat a bone whole, but his father pried it out of his hand.

Luke, for his part, was fascinated by the Child.

“I wonder where he came from,” he wondered aloud. “I wonder if Master Yoda knew about him.”

“ _Seems like someone went through a lot of trouble to keep him to themselves_ ,” said Din. “ _A whole galaxy and no one has seen more of his kind, except for you._ ”

The idea that this child could be the last of his kind was heartbreaking. It had never even crossed his mind that Yoda could have been. Luke was too concerned with his own life and affairs to think about the 900 years of Yoda’s life before him or any Skywalker ever existed.

After dinner, the children were clean, full, warm, and content. It didn’t take very long before they had slipped into slumber.

Luke, meanwhile, was agitated in his damp clothes. He slipped out of his tunic and his boots until he was left wearing only his damp pants, the rest of his clothes laid out with Ben’s and the baby’s near the heater where they could dry thoroughly in the moist atmosphere. Luke’s hair was reacting poorly to this climate. The usually straight, flat texture was curling and standing up in all directions.

Luke sat beside the opening, looking out at the gray sky, the green landscape, the rainbows that occasionally winked into sight when the fast moving clouds allowed just enough sunlight to come through. Din stood beside him, also looking out at the scenery, his thumbs on his belt. They were silent, and Luke was content in the shared silence for a moment.

“This place is beautiful…” he finally said aloud, softly. “I’ll never get sick of the rain.”

He heard a soft chuff from beneath Din’s helmet, maybe a scoff. “ _Never say never._ ”

Luke shook his head, smiling at the grassland that seemed to dance from the raindrops. “I could live out the rest of my life surrounded by nothing but water. I’ve had enough of desert to last a lifetime.”

“ _Can’t say I blame you there…_ ”

“Maybe some day you can tell me about your home world… and Mandalore…” Luke knew so little about the Mandalorians, they were enigmatic and surrounded by rumor and myth. Their history and culture so vast and complex, it would take a lifetime to begin to understand.

“ _I’d love to._ ”

But today was not the day for that story, Luke could tell by the tension that clenched in Din’s energy at the mere mention. They were quiet again. Din moved closer, standing close to where Luke sat.

“I’m worried about Ben,” Luke said after a pause. “I didn’t know he had so much… pain about Han…”

“ _He’s a kid…_ ” Din said it as if such a simple reply made it all okay. “ _He’ll learn and understand things the older he gets. Like we all do._ ”

“I know he will…” Luke said quietly. “But he shouldn’t get scars along the way. I know Han loves him, but Ben needs to know it without a doubt. I was raised by my Uncle Owen and my Aunt Beru and even though my uncle and I had some rough patches, I knew he cared about me. They never left me behind.”

“ _Your father…_ ” Din spoke softly, but a chill ran through Luke when the subject was broached. “ _You never did tell me about him._ ”

He didn’t think Din would ask. It had become their way to not pry or ask personal questions—at least, that was their way before they threw in their lot together and decided to travel side by side. That changed the rules. Luke felt himself being torn within in deep consideration. No, he never told him about his father. He looked over his shoulder into the ship, across the length of the _Crest’s_ hold where the boys were sleeping in the cubby that was the sleeping berth, the droids powered down close by.

“It’s not easy to talk about…” Luke spoke at a whisper, afraid for Ben to hear. But he looked to Din and sighed heavily. “It’s something that has only been between me, Leia, and Han… They made me promise not to tell Ben about his grandfather until he’s older, until he can understand it better.” He looked down at his hands, his thumb massaging into the bionic palm. Though he was shirtless and barefoot, he did not take off the glove. “It’s not even something that I’ve ever been able to truly understand, no matter how hard I try…”

Din nudged him hard at the hip, indicating that he scoot over. When he did, Din sat beside him, their thighs pressed together, the armor hard against Luke’s bare shoulder, but somehow comforting. Din said nothing, he simply took Luke’s hand and listened, gloved hands clasping.

“It’s taken years for me to try to piece together who my father really was. Most of my life I believed that my father was a pilot on a spice freighter and had died on the job… That’s what my aunt and uncle told me… They kept the truth from me to protect me, I know they didn’t mean any malice… They loved me… I found out the truth from Old Ben Kenobi, who was a hermit that lived nearby. He actually knew my father. Better than anyone, in fact. They were both Jedi knights, and Obi-Wan was his master.”

“ _Obi-Wan?_ ”

“Oh… Sorry, that was Ben’s real name… I can’t decide on what I’m supposed to call him…” He chuckled nervously, the conversation giving him heart arrhythmia that he hadn’t felt in some time. “You see, my father’s name was Anakin Skywalker. He didn’t fly spice freighters, he flew fighters in the Clone Wars. He was a general, a Jedi, and a hero apparently.”

“ _Then why the secrecy and the lies?_ ” Din’s voice was tight. He seemed angry on Luke’s behalf, so he squeezed the bounty hunter’s hand.

“Something happened. I don’t know what it was, only that it was enough to corrupt my father and take control of him… He turned to the Dark Side. He became… He became Darth Vader.”

The truth was released as if from a cage and Luke braced for the consequence while feeling the weight off his shoulders.

Din turned to him, squaring, his hand stiffening in Luke’s grip but not letting go. “ _Vader? The Emperor’s lap dog?_ ”

Luke winced a little, he could feel the stabbing of anger from Din, the repulsion.

“ _He’s your father? That murdering, genocidal—_ ” His emotions seemed to broil up too much. He let go of Luke’s hand and stood suddenly, pacing away, then coming back. “ _Do you know how many Mandalorians were massacred by his stormtroopers? How many worlds were destroyed in the crossfire of the wars?_ ”

The hatred was poisoning the air and Luke had to expel it before it infected him. He forced in a deep breath, a calm voice. “Din, please… You told me once that we’re not defined by our bloodlines…”

“ _And I stand by that,_ ” he said firmly, standing close over Luke again. “ _I don’t give a damn about your father… But what I am worried about is this Dark Side. What is the Dark Side? What does that mean, Luke?_ ”

That’s where the fear and the anger was coming from. He was a father fearing for his child. Din didn’t hate him for his father’s sins. He now understood Leia’s fears in telling Han, and how the truth had brought them closer than ever.

“It’s difficult to explain what the Dark Side is, I’m just learning it’s true nature myself… to the best of my ability without practicing it. It’s a different side of the Force. It harnesses the power from within, feeds on anger, hatred, and fear and it’s… it’s unbelievably strong. You can imagine how tempting it could be to take your own suffering and turn it into something powerful, thinking you can change things, maybe for the better…”

Luke had been there more than once. The hurt he had felt in his life seemed as though it could have been worth it if only he could _use_ it.

“The cost is too great,” he went on. “The Dark Side consumes and destroys. My father was a good man, I know he was, but he was so afraid. I felt it in him, it trapped him and he was drowning in it. And I guess like any drowning person, it was too dangerous to try to save him, or you could be drowned yourself… But I didn’t care.”

Din was quiet as he listened. “ _Did you try to save him from drowning?_ ”

“I didn’t try. I did. And I think he saved me from ever doing the same.” Of course, that was after the Dark Side encouraged them both to plunge into it as father and son.

“ _I’ve seen the Child use his abilities when he was angry or frightened…_ ” he could hear the worry in Din’s clipped words. “ _How can we teach him to know the difference?_ ”

We. That word, and all the implications behind it, brought a soft smile to Luke’s face.

“One day at a time. A lot of patience.”

He was brimming with love right now, the Force more vibrant than ever in response, reaching out to every inch of this moon and Din Djarin. He no longer harbored that dark secret about his father. It was clear now that they were set on the same, long path together for better or worse.

Luke stood and moved closer, his hands sliding past the smooth armor to get at the cloth in between, searching for the softer parts of Din. The cloak around his collar was still damp.

“Din, you’ve gotta get out of these wet clothes…”

Din’s leather gloves clawed at the bare skin of Luke’s lower back, his helmet tilting a little. “ _That an invitation?_ ”

Luke’s breath caught and he had to bite his lip to keep in the idiotic giggle that almost rose out of him.

“An invitation to keep you from getting sick,” he said as firmly as he could.

“ _It’s not even cold out here…_ ” Din’s tone was dismissive, his hands sliding to grip Luke’s ass, pulling him against him. “ _You don’t know how badly I want to get you alone…_ ” he whispered.

Luke could feel something hard pressing into his hip and his blood rushed through him. “I think I got a pretty good idea…”

The kids were still sleeping. The droids still powered down. Gripping Din’s hand he began to pull him along towards the front of the ship, to get to the cockpit. It was the only place they could lock themselves in and have privacy.

Luke put a finger to his mouth and gestured to Din to be quiet, the bounty hunter replying with an incredulous cant of his helmet. It was remarkable, actually, how absolutely silent he was in all of that metal and accessories on his person. Luke’s bare feet tip toed through the hull, wincing at every tiny scuff or tap. Not a peep from the sleeping children. They reached the ladder, his heart was hammering with victory and anticipation.

He was halfway up when a flash of light filled the hold and thunder clapped right over them, shaking the ship. There were young gasps, frantic beeps and whistles, and a loud “OH!” from C-3PO who was throwing his arms around in confusion.

Now everyone was awake. Luke wanted to scream. Din slowly turned towards the bulkhead and thunked his helmet against it. Twice.

“Uncle Luke?”

Ben was leaning out of the sleeping berth, pale faced and shaking, his head and one bare leg poking out of Luke’s giant black robe, his arms tight around the baby in his lap. The baby’s face was especially wrinkled with concern, his bottom lip pulled in and his ears down. They were confused and scared from the sound, he could feel it.

Before Luke could climb back down from the ladder, Din was already approaching the children.

“ _You afraid of the lightning?_ ” he asked softly.

Ben stared at him then shrugged.

“ _It’s loud. Bright. Depending on where you are, it can be deadly. The lightning can’t reach you in here, though, even if the thunder can._ ”

“It’s the same thing,” Ben argued.

“ _No… Lightning is the electricity, thunder’s just the noise it makes. It’s good to pay attention to the noise, but there’s nothing to be afraid of. It wants you to be scared… but we’re not gonna let it, right? We’re stronger than the noise._ ”

“You got hit by the lightning…”

“ _The lightning hit me because I was in its territory. Thunder can’t touch me, just like it can’t touch you. Next time that thunder yells at you, try yelling back._ ”

“Mom doesn’t like it when I yell…”

“ _Something tells me when the time is right, your mother has a battle cry of her own._ ”

There was a rumbling in the sky and Ben’s large eyes looked upward. By now, Luke was off the ladder and standing aside, his arms folded and watching with fascination as Ben gave the Mandalorian his full attention.

Another flash, another deafening crash of thunder. Ben jolted and hugged the baby tighter.

“ _Come on. Let’s hear it._ ”

Ben shook his head and buried his face behind the baby’s wrinkled head. The baby was staring up at his father and his mouth opened wide, revealing tiny razor teeth and he roared.

Well, it wasn’t really a roar. It was a tiny scream that ended in a triumphant trill, and he looked up at his father eagerly.

“ _Yeah, just like that…_ ” Din chuckled.

Even Ben laughed in spite of himself.

There was another rumble outside. Din leaned forward without warning and picked up Ben, putting the boy on his hip while Ben carried be baby. Din made it look effortless and he carried both children towards the opening of the hatch, the water still pouring relentlessly outside.

There was a flash, another booming crash as the thunder itself seemed to punch the sky. This time, Din leaned towards the storm and roared. The sound sent a shiver down Luke’s spine, he was sure it was the growl he might give when charging into a fight, a well-practiced battle cry indeed, harmonized by the tiny squeaking yell of his green son. It was enough, though. Ben sucked in a lungful and let it out in a long shout of his own, as if he had been holding it in for a hundred years and didn’t stop till he was gasping.

The lightning flashed again, and the thunder clashed in reply. All three of them screamed back. Then Ben laughed and kicked his long legs where they were wrapped around the Mandalorian.

“ _You gotta powerful war cry there, kid… And you got family. There’s nothing to be scared of. Now… You gonna go back to sleep?_ ”

“Uh huh…” Ben nodded, but he was wide awake now, invigorated with the challenge against the elements.

Seeing the way that Din handled the children was enough to make Luke want him then and there. There was no chance of stealing time together in the cockpit now, but how could Luke be mad?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What the heckin heck was I thinking starting this fic RIGHT BEFORE SEASON 2? Oh well. Hopefully I won't put anything too contradictory to whatever story developments there will be in Season 2. hahahaha. Hope you liked the fluff here anyway.


	4. We Will Raise Warriors

They all slept through the night and Luke woke on the floor of the ship’s hold, a few random sacks and blankets arranged to make the hard space a little more comfortable. Din sat on the floor, his back against the wall, one knee up, the baby slumped against him, his large head hanging back, his mouth open with small snores. Luke was on the other side of Din, his face against the pauldron. When he sat up and touched his cheek, he could feel the distinct imprint of a mudhorn insignia on his face. Ben was stretched out on the floor, Luke’s leg serving as his pillow.

They had tried to put the kids to bed in the sleeping berth, but the storm was relentless and they needed to be entertained until they fell asleep. Luke accepted that time alone with Din just wasn’t written in the stars for them. Even C-3PO and R2-D2 were powered down nearby.

He moved only his head to look to Din’s helmet.

“Din, are you awake?” he whispered.

Nothing.

Very, very slowly, as if creeping through a minefield, he slipped his leg out from under Ben’s head, replacing it with the folds of his cloak. He crept away from the sleeping group and down the still-open ramp of the ship where the light of the sun was coming through in a golden haze ringed with rainbows.

The rains lightened up to a thin drizzle, a spray that drifted through the fields and added dew to the already soaked wildlife and ship. The wildlife of the planet was alive with the daylight and the passing storm, he could see the birds swarming the air, even glimpses of grazing animals moving through the trees. It was beautiful here and Luke breathed in the crisp, fresh air as he stretched his arms over his head and worked out the stiffness in his joints. His butt hurt from sitting on the metal floor of the ship, but at least he was rested. It wasn’t the worst place he’d ever had to sleep.

He stepped back into the ship, dew clinging to his hair and he paused to look to the sleeping group on the floor. They were peaceful, he could feel it in the Force like a settled lake and he couldn’t help smiling to look at them. He wouldn’t forgive himself if he woke them, and he already had an idea of how to keep busy. He picked up Din’s jet pack from where it was leaning against the bulkhead, blackened on one side from where the lightning had struck it directly. It was heavier than it looked, and he tried not to grunt as he tucked it under one arm to grab the toolkit.

Carrying both be moved to the ladder. Logistics made it impossible for him to climb the ladder with his hands full, so he did what he often tried not to do and used the Force to float the toolkit up into the cockpit. Two trips would have saved him the frivolous use of the ability, but hey, he needed to keep in practice, right? Besides, it was a good cause. Old Ben and Yoda would understand.

Hugging the jetpack, he carefully climbed with one hand and settled down on the floor of the cockpit cross-legged with the jetpack in his lap and the tools spread out. He got to work, the simple act of tinkering taking him back to the old days at Tosche Station, where he had met Din for the first time. It seemed so long ago.

It was easy to assume that the lightning had shorted out and fried whatever components were inside, but as he removed the casing, he realized just how different the Mandalorian technology was to anything he was used to. The more he studied it, however, the more he began to figure out the components. This was fixable, it just needed one or two replacement parts.

He spent the better part of the morning tinkering with it, the rain coming and going in sheets of water, occasional silence when it decided to stop. Once or twice, Luke was distracted from his tinkering when he just stared at the transparisteel windows of the cockpit, almost hypnotized by the way the water trickled down rhythmically, creating textured shadows all over.

It was in one of these moments that he was staring, without a thought in his head, when another shadow passed over. A huge shadow. Like a ship.

Setting aside the jet pack, he scrambled to his feet and looked out the cockpit’s view to see a massive, solid shape flying in for a swooping landing. No mistake about it, that was the _Millennium Falcon._ He dropped down the hatch silently, but rushed to where Din was still slouched against the bulkhead, a sleeping child on each side of him.

“Din!” Luke whispered sharply, setting his hand into the fabric-covered part of his shoulder. “Din, the _Falcon’s_ here.”

The beskar helmet righted itself and there was a soft snort within. “ _The who?_ ”

“Han’s ship. They’re just now landing, come on!” Luke wasn’t whispering anymore. The kids were slowly waking up.

“Oh!” Threepio’s eyes flashed on and he straightened up where he stood. “Han Solo and Chewbacca are here?”

 _Wee-roo. Beep._ Artoo was excited, he was already rolling away from his place in the corner, down the ramp and into the grassland.

Luke didn’t wait for Din. He was jogging out the open ramp of the ship, down into the tall, wet grass. The _Falcon_ was landed right in front of the Crest, nose to nose, so Luke had to circle around the _Razor Crest_ from the back. As he waded through the tall grass, steam fired out and the _Falcon’s_ ramp lowered on its hydraulics. 

He could hear Artoo somewhere in the grass, the tall blades getting pushed aside as the astromech cleared a path for Luke. All Luke had to do was fall in line behind the little droid and walking was much easier.

“Thanks, Artoo.”

As they came near the _Falcon_ , it wasn’t Chewie or Han who appeared.

“Hey there, Luke.” It was Lando Calrissian, striking a charming pose as always with one hand on the pistons, his cape draped off one shoulder. “You’re lookin’ good. It’s been awhile, my friend.”

“It has,” Luke smiled. “Lando, I didn’t expect to see you… Han didn’t say you were coming.”

“That’s because he wasn’t invited,” Han grouched as he stepped out from behind his old friend. “I made the mistake of mentioning a dead space moon, and he was all over it like Fotlian Flies.”

Lando put his hands out innocently. “You said you were going to help Luke, I want to help Luke, too. For old time’s sake.”

Han ignored him and approached Luke instead, arms opening. Luke stepped into them and they exchanged a firm, brief, slap-on-the-back, hug. Down the ramp came two, long striding stomps, and the next thing Luke knew, a pair of hairy arms encircled them both, followed by a long Wookiee roar.

“Chewie!” Luke laughed, patting the hairy limbs. “How are you?”

Chewie voiced what could only have been some good natured complaints, his snout pointing from Han to Lando.

“We do not bicker like we’re married,” Han protested and Lando only laughed. “Where’s Ben?” Han was looking past him to the _Razor Crest._

“He was just waking up when I left him. Come on.”

All three of them followed Luke through the path that Artoo had cut for them. As they walked along the length of the Crest, Han’s head was tilted back, a brow quirked as he turned to look at Chewbacca.

“And everyone called the _Falcon_ a piece of junk… You actually _landed_ in that thing? It wasn’t more of a controlled fall?” he stepped up to walk beside Luke. “I’ve seen Jawa scrap piles with better hull integrity.”

Luke couldn’t defend it. Din’s ship was certainly worse for wear. But he wasn’t about to verbally agree with Han either. Threepio was standing beside the sip, a gold arm stiffly waving.

“Han Solo and Chewbacca! I must say, it is wonderful to have so many of us back together again! It is a relief on this dreadfully wet and rather electrified planet. Is it time to leave yet?”

“Not yet, Threepio…” Luke patted his shoulder as he passed him.

Han was smiling sardonically at Threepio. “When we leave, we’ll be sure to leave you here.”

“What? No! That-that’s not what I meant, I—”

R2-D2 was laughing in binary.

They turned to step onto the ramp, and there was Din, standing halfway down, the child on his arm, one knee bent on the slope, his other hand resting on the blaster on his hip.

Han stopped abruptly when he saw the bounty hunter, and he smiled sweetly. “Beautiful ship. Pre-Empire?”

Din didn’t reply, he met them with silence.

“Din this is Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian,” said Luke. “Han, Chewie, you remember Din Djarin, right?”

“From Ord Mantell,” Han nodded. “Hard to forget the few places you get to see a Mandalorian…”

Chewie rumbled a little and inched forward. The child cooed in Din’s arms, reaching a tiny hand towards the Wookiee. Chewbacca looked fascinated, maybe even shocked. He growled quietly and spoke to Han. Han’s brows rose and he folded his arms.

“So, that’s your kid?” Han asked Din. His cheeks puffed as he exhaled and he shook his head. “Luke, if that’s what your boyfriend looks like under the helmet, I had your type figured all wrong…”

Luke’s face was burning. “Han…”

“Daddy!” Ben came flying down the ramp, dressed but barefoot, and he leapt up into his father’s arms.

Han caught him without hesitation, his arms closing around the boy, his face burying into the boy’s thick hair. The former smuggler let out an audible sigh of relief.

“Hey…” Han forced a laugh, but Luke could see the gleam of a tear in his eyes. “What, you didn’t think I’d find you?”

“No, because we’re on a moon where no one can find anyone, and you were already gone so long, and you said you would be home a long time ago…”

“I’m sorry, kiddo…” Han glanced to Luke, the guilt keeping him from maintaining eye contact long. But he managed to look from Luke to Din. “Thanks for looking after him…”

“ _You’re welcome._ ” Din finally spoke, his voice soft with sincerity.

“Hi, Uncle Chewie…” Ben, still balanced in his father’s arms, was rubbing his own eyes as he looked to the Wookiee.

Chewbacca barked at him and Ben was smiling. Luke smiled too, worry washing off of him to see that all the resentment and anger Ben had was nowhere to be seen now that he was reunited with his family.

“So, who is this little bean, anyway?” Lando moved nearer, looking curiously at the Child.

“An orphan,” Luke kept it simple. “Din’s trying to find his own kind… He’s also gifted with the Force.”

“The Force?” Lando’s brows rose, impressed. “In that little package? You mean he can do what you do?”

“Well… certain things, I guess.” Luke actually didn’t know everything the baby was capable of.

“He’s adorable,” Lando said to Din, as if complimenting his genes.

“He’s my friend,” Ben spoke up excitedly, looking to Han. “He eats everything and can swallow it whole! And he’s got really, really sharp teeth!”

“You sure you’re not talking about yourself?”

“I do have a really sharp tooth! Look!” Ben was pulling up his lip to show his dad his canines, which Han examined closely.

Chewie let out growl of approval.

“Hey, that is pretty sharp…” Han nodded, but his brow furrowed. “Your Uncle Luke hasn’t been making sure your teeth are brushed though…”

The look of parental disapproval on Han’s face was completely comical, and clearly not genuine.

“We packed in a hurry,” Luke shrugged. “Might have forgotten a toothbrush.”

“That’s fine. I got some on the _Falcon_. We got food, too, if you guys are hungry.”

Ben was nodding, and the baby’s large ears were perking up. A thought then occurred to Luke, purely selfish and indulgent, but harmless he knew. His cheeks were burning again, but with a small clearing of his throat, he waved Lando to step aside with him for confidence.

“What’s up?” Lando looked curious and alarmed.

“I hate to ask… It’s a little embarrassing… Would it be possible for you, Han, and Chewie to watch the kids for a… few hours?”

Lando, reliably, caught on fast and the light on his face only made Luke blush harder. Lando’s hand was on his shoulder squeezing generously and he winked, his voice low a smooth.

“No problem… I got you, baby…” He moved to walk away, but Luke grabbed his arm.

“Wait!” he whispered. “Don’t tell Han…”

Lando chuckled low and shook his head. “Sorry, pal. He’ll know. But I’ll try to encourage some discretion on his part.”

Something told him they would be giggling about it together, but he had to accept that small embarrassment if it meant uninterrupted time with Din. Lando, without any prompting from Luke, approached Din, standing at the bottom of the ramp below him. He reached out his hands.

“I can take the little one for some lunch, if you want me to.”

The Mandalorian’s T-Visor looked to Luke, who stood behind Lando. Luke was nodding emphatically.

“ _Alright_ …” Din said after a pause. He put the baby into Lando’s arms.

Lando tucked the baby in close and beamed. “My, he’s cute! Any dietary restrictions I ought to know about?”

“ _Watch your fingers._ ” Din said flatly.

Lando laughed, but his mirth quickly died. “Seriously?”

The baby cooed and fiddled with the chain that held Lando’s cape around his throat.

Lando sighed and nodded. “I guess it won’t be the first time I’ve had to be careful with teeth… Alright, Han, how about some food?”

Han watched with a slight furrow to his brow. “Sure…” he said slowly.

He was already catching on and Luke managed a sweet smile to him. They all began to walk back to the _Falcon_ together, the droids tagging along. Din looked to Luke, following the cue that the Jedi was staying behind deliberately.

“ _What’d you say to that Calrissian guy?_ ”

“I just asked if they could watch the kids for a few hours… That’s all…” He watched them for a moment before finally stepping up the ramp, just past Din so that Luke was the taller one for the moment. “Unless you’d rather go eat with the others…”

Luke moved backwards up the ramp keeping his eyes on Din, smirking as the Mandalorian followed, the blank T-visor steady on him. The Jedi, who was schooled to be always calm and collected, had a heart beating so fast and so hard it sounded like a blaster turret in his ear. He finally stopped moving to let Din come to him, and their hands were on each other immediately. Din’s gloved hands gripping tightly at Luke’s hips, Luke’s hands snaking to the exposed part of Din’s waist, his fingers curling into the fabric.

“Alone at last,” Luke felt shy for a moment, pressing his forehead to the unforgiving beskar surface of the helmet.

“ _Finally_.” Din’s voice was hoarse.

He wanted all of Din, completely and without obstacle, just as he did in those temple ruins in the dark.

“Should we turn out the lights, or should I get a blindfold…?” he was sincere, he wanted whatever Din liked.

“ _Keep the lights on…_ ”

Blindfold it was. Luke pulled away to go find something that would serve, but he was held in place. He looked to Din quizzically, the helmet impossible to read, but when he reached out with the Force, he felt uncertainty vibrating from the Mandalorian.

“What is it?” he asked softly.

“ _I… I don’t want the blindfold either…_ ”

“I don’t mind if the helmet’s on,” Luke chuckled lightly, finding it odd that the man was suddenly self conscious about wearing the helmet and nothing else. He’d done it before.

“ _No… I want to take it off for you._ ”

“I know you can’t, it’s okay—”

“ _Listen_.”

Din’s voice was hard, and he had the Jedi’s full attention.

“ _I’ve been thinking about this. A lot. You joined my crew to help me with the kid, and I gave my word to help you in your own quest. These past few days have made it clear that all the times we’ve met in the past might have been some weird coincidence… or maybe it was the Force, or whatever… but my life was always made better for having you in it, even if it was for a few hours or a few days. Luke…”_ Coarse gloves were on each side of his face now. _“I want to be by your side, and stay by your side. I want you to see my face. I want to marry you._ ”

Luke was staring at his own distorted reflection as he listened, and he could just make out the completely idiotic look on his face, his mouth open, his eyes wide.

“Din… Are you serious?” It didn’t register. “You don’t know me well enough!”

“ _Pretty sure I know the worst of your family secrets, anyway..._ ”

Luke scoffed, blinking out of his stupor.

“ _You don’t know me well, either… but I’d like to spend the remainder of our lives learning. I want you to know me._ ”

“I do know you, Din…” Luke moved his hands to the cold metal on Din’s chest. “I might not know your parents’ names, where you grew up, or the names of your friends… I don’t even know your favorite food. But I can feel who you are and I feel how you feel about me. The rest is just the fun details…”

“ _Will you marry me or not?_ " Din sounded as annoyed as he was nervous.

Luke thought about it, and he realized it only made him smile. “Yes. Yes!”

Now he couldn’t help the pure giddiness, it burst out of him in one explosion of feeling and he threw his arms around Din, jumping into his arms and immune to the armor that jabbed into him. Luke’s journey had been so solitary, he had accepted that he would be walking it alone.

He wasn’t alone now. 

He thought he heard a chuckle under the helmet, but the thing modulated and muffled so much sound. As the initial stupefying joy faded, Luke peeled way and frowned with realization.

“But... Who’s going to marry us? Do we need Mandalorian clergy or officials? How does it work?”

“ _My people hold word as bond. All we need to do is speak the vows, it’s enough that I hear yours and you, mine._ ”

Luke had goosebumps thinking about Din speaking his vows to him. Everything the Mandalorian ever swore had such profound substance, and for it to be a vow to _him_. To become his creed.

“What do I need to say? Does it have to be in your language?”

“ _No… You don’t have to speak Mando’a… We can say it in Basic. All that matters is that you say it and that you mean what you say._ ”

“I’m ready.”

“ _You’re sure?_ ”

“Din, I haven’t been more sure of anything in my life.” Which was saying a lot.

Din’s chest rose and fell, his breath gusting behind the helmet. Luke could feel his nervousness, and it would have been a lie to say he wasn’t sweating a little, too.

“ _You can repeat them as I say it… We are one together._ ”

“We are one together…”

“ _We are one when parted._ ”

“We are one when parted.”

“ _We share all._ ”

“We share all.”

“ _We will raise warriors._ ”

“We will raise warriors.” Luke couldn’t help grinning briefly at that one. They had a child already, and he was tiny and green, and potentially a powerful warrior in his own right.

All of the words had flowed through him with such a ringing of truth that it seemed to clear everything within him, his mind and heart so calm and quiet.

“ _That’s it._ ” Din said with tremulous finality, as if he feared regret from Luke. “ _We’re a clan of three. This is the way._ ”

Luke let out a breath, then sucked it in again and held it. Din was coiled, hesitant, but bursting within that armor. Luke couldn’t blame him for the fear and uncertainty he felt.

“ _I’ve… I’ve never removed my helmet for anyone since I swore the creed…_ ” His voice was shaking.

“We’re married now,” Luke said gently, his hands still on Din’s chest. “But that doesn’t mean you have to take it off today. We have the rest of our lives now, remember?”

“ _Aren’t you worried about what I look like?_ ”

“Not a bit.”

Din stood, as if frozen. Luke slowly reached up and placed both hands on each side of the beskar helmet, feeling the cold smoothness of it in his flesh hand.

“Can I?”

“ _Do it._ ” 

Din made it sound like he was ripping off a bandage, and Luke would have laughed if this wasn’t so important. Slowly and carefully he lifted it. Chin, mouth, mustache, nose, closed eyes, and dark hair flattened and curled beneath. Every bit as human looking as he had felt in the dark, and Luke realized when those dark eyes opened and looked at him, handsome enough to send Luke into a momentary shock.

Maybe he was biased, but Din Djarin was exceptionally attractive.

“Oh…” Luke breathed out, his face on fire. “Hello.”

“Hi…”

He remembered that soft voice, raw and unencumbered by the helmet. Gloved fingers scratched at his scalp, loosening those dark strands and causing them to fall over his brow in a way that made him even more irresistible. The face was new, and yet it was as though he had always known it. Din’s eyes were alarmingly soft and gentle for being the eyes of a hardened warrior.

They stared at one another for a moment, and Din swallowed hard. “I’m sorry if you’re disappointed—”

Luke tossed the helmet—he knew the beskar could take it—and he grabbed Din’s face, pulling him in and kissing him desperately. The mustache tickled and Din kissed him back fervently, deeply, his tongue plunging into Luke’s mouth. They could not stop devouring each other, Din’s hands were grabbing him and pulling at him, and Luke was ready to be torn to pieces.

But he stopped suddenly, and with painful regret, broke the kiss and pulled back. Din was left breathless and blinking.

“What’s wrong?”

“Din…” Luke said reluctantly. “When was the last time you had a shower?”

Din’s brow furrowed. “You’re saying I smell?”

“I’m saying you… stink, yeah.” He laughed.

“There’ll be plenty of reason to shower later…” he went for Luke’s neck, kissing at it and sucking hard on the flesh.

Luke quaked, his blood rushing, but his nose also scrunching. “Din…” he giggled, gently pushing at his shoulders. “I’m not kidding. You need a shower. If the boys can do it, so can you.”

Din sighed heavily, his head hanging. Luke didn’t wait for another protest, he was moving away to find the soap.

“Get your clothes off…” Luke was smiling now. He had been dying to be intimate with his Mandalorian for days now, but somehow the idea of caring for him, taking it into his own hands to treat him and make him feel better, was the most exciting thing.

Din didn’t argue, though Luke could feel the frustration boiling off of him. Maybe Luke found a little pleasure in teasing him.

“You never made me shower before,” Din mumbled as he removed the armor one piece at a time, piling it respectfully beside his helmet.

“Spousal privileges,” Luke was taking off his own clothes now, and as he hoped, Din suddenly stripped faster. He suspected a shared shower would sweeten the pot.

Luke had much fewer layers and so he was naked first, save for the glove on his hand. The rain was at an easy downpour, even if it wasn’t nearly as heavy as it was before. He went out first, stepping onto the ramp and into the elements, the water flattening down his hair. It was warm and clean and he felt invigorated.

Din, who was still in the shelter of the ship’s hold, was down to his pants and boots and nothing else. Luke could see his bare torso and all the scars that decorated it, mostly in the places where there was no armor to protect him. The bounty hunter was frowning hard, though perhaps not out of anger so much as habit, and Luke watched with wonder, learning what he looked like.

After some hesitation, Din was finally naked, his hand covering his manhood. He look absolutely uncomfortable wearing nothing, after being encased in everything for so long. He was tense with vulnerability. Luke met him halfway, taking his hand and standing near. 

Din was looking over his shoulder with understandable paranoia. “We should stay in the ship…”

“It’s okay, Din…” Luke said gently, his arms closing around Din’s torso, the soap in one hand. He moved backward, guiding the bounty hunter slowly out into the rain, skin touching skin from chest to thigh.

He pulled away from Din so that he could rub the soap between his hands, lathering it up in the warm rainfall. Din simply would not stop looking over his shoulder, looking at every shadow that moved. His heart was hammering, Luke could practically feel it. It was no surprise that he was a nervous wreck out of his armor.

Rather than insist that he relax or stop being paranoid, Luke went to work. Slippery hands began at Din’s chest, rubbing in wide circles over pectorals that were well defined from carrying the weight beskar and jet packs, slicking over chest hair. Luke’s hands slid over clavicle, around his neck, working up beneath his ears. It was when his fingers circled in the sensitive spot just under Din’s ears that the latter’s eyes fluttered closed. 

Every touch from Luke provoked a reaction from deep within. Touch was foreign to Din, it was evident in every shiver when Luke’s hands moved to a different part of his body. Luke didn’t make a spectacle of it, though he did let himself indulge a little in his careful washing. He worked his soapy fingers (albeit some gloved) over the hard muscle of Din’s shoulders, which he had unsuccessfully massaged before, and he worked down his torso, around his waist and hips. His thumbs pressed a little at the line of Din’s pelvis, and he could not help admiring everything below.

Din was hard from Luke’s attentive wash, and he was no longer looking over his shoulder. His chest rose and fell heavily and when Luke looked up again, the Mandalorian’s eyes were on him hungrily. God, was that how Din always looked at him? Maybe it was a good thing the helmet concealed it, because being in his gaze immediately had Luke at his mercy.

Luke had his arms around him again tightly to kiss him hard, their bodies flush, their cocks brushing. Din was holding him, pawing at his back and spine, working his way down to grip at Luke’s ass firmly, the sensation making the Jedi smile a little into the kiss. He alway seemed to have an affinity for Luke’s ass.

He pushed his hips forward against Din, a little pressure against his hard member, and Din pushed back with enthusiasm, rubbing with enough friction to evoke a sharp gasp from Luke. The falling rain had all but rinsed away whatever soap was clinging to flesh, and Luke did not realize he had dropped the soap, the bar sliding down the ramp to be lost in the grass.

Din broke the kiss, his mouth trailing hungry kisses along Luke’s jaw and neck, his mustache ticking every bit of the way. Each kiss along his throat, to his shoulders had Luke shaking at the knees, his fingers kneading at Din’s back. Every kiss sparked more fire in Luke that no amount of rain was about to extinguish.

He pulled where his hands were on Luke’s ass, grinding against him, his manhood hard and pulsing against Luke’s, and now his teeth were grazing Luke’s shoulder. 

How had he gone this long, in all those times he met Din Djarin, and not experience him so completely and yet so teasingly?

“Clean enough…” Luke said hoarsely, hardly able to catch his breath.

With both hands on Din’s chest he pushed, herding him backward into the ship again. Din was smiling. Oh, that smile was more than he could have ever imagined beneath the helmet, it practically lit up the room. Din was pushing back his dark hair, slicking it off his face.

Luke reluctantly pulled away just long enough to yank the spare blankets to the floor, haphazardly creating a bed, some sort of soft surface for their bare bodies. Meanwhile, Din hit the button to close the ramp and seal them in. He grabbed at Din again, hands behind his neck as he pulled him down with him onto the floor, on top of him, the weight of the bounty hunter immense but welcome. One of Luke’s legs wrapped around Din’s pinning him, desperate to get as close as was physically possible as they kissed, their tongues coiling.

Din drove his hips into him again and Luke whimpered with the friction that fired through him, squeezing things tighter deep within. He felt like he was going insane, he couldn’t form a coherent thought, let alone find the sense of control that he had worked so hard to attain through the Force. He was all need and lust right now. He was all the crude matter he had been warned against.

He pushed his hips upward beneath Din, opened his legs and wrapped them around, silently begging to be taken. Din rolled his hips, his erection dragging against Luke’s painfully slow. Din broke the kiss, sitting up on his elbows enough for noses to brush, eyes to meet.

“I don’t want to rush this time…” he said softly. “I want to take my time here… With you.”

They were alone, they had time, and it made Luke’s heart thunder in his chest. He let out a breathy chuckle. “Are you calling me impatient?”

Water was still dripping from the tips of Din’s curled hair and when he smiled dimples appeared, perfect crinkles around his eyes. Luke filed that away, to remember what was beneath the helmet.

“You know, before this whole Jedi lifestyle of yours, you were the least patient being I’ve ever met.”

Din remembered the desert rat and Luke had never felt so far away from that version of himself. Then again, he may have still been that farm boy in more ways than he was ready to admit.

“I’d sure like to prove you wrong…” Luke tried to challenge, his tongue flicking out and brushing the other’s lips.

“Uh huh,” Din breathed, the edge of his mouth pulling into a devious smirk that only excited Luke further.

Din kissed him again, pulling deeply and briefly before his lips were moving, sucking and swallowing down the remnants of the rainwater from his throat—his mouth and breath hot against him—blazing a trail over Luke’s sternum, to his stomach, along the lines of his pelvis, until his face reached the soft hair below.

Luke was shaking. Though he had happily done the same for Din, he had never been on the receiving end. He wondered if Din had done this before, with who, how often, how long ago… his mind was racing, but his eyes rolled closed when Din stroked him first with his hand, his lips lightly sucking the tip. The tiniest touch and Luke was electrified.

But the Mandalorian had other plans, something less obvious and perhaps more strategic. He was moving lower and he had Luke by the thighs now, lifting him at the waist and practically folding him in half. Din’s face was buried against him now, and he felt the heat of his tongue trailing deep in the crack, finding the tight entrance. 

Luke was alarmed in the best way, everything in him yearning for the other man’s mouth. Din’s hands spread him wide, allowing his mouth more access, and his tongue delved. It was shocking, heated and wet, and Luke quivered, gasping for breath under the pressure of being folded, his hands reaching to find Din, to grip and claw at his arms or his hair. Din’s tongue plunged again, and this time Luke could not hold in the small moan.

His mouth withdrew and a finger pushed inside, then two, curling and finding the sensitive walls within. Luke moaned, his cock so hard and weeping that he thought he would burst. 

“Din—” He was about to beg, to insist that he take him now with everything he had.

But he remembered, just barely, that his patience was being challenged. Especially when Din chuckled low. Luke was biting his own flesh hand now as Din’s fingers were working him now, slowly, rhythmically, getting Luke to the cusp then easing off to keep him going. Luke was writhing and panting.

The hoarse breaths from Din told Luke that he was aching for it, too. When he managed to be cognizant long enough to reach through the Force, he could feel the spiraling desperation that was gnawing inside of Din.

Din stopped and he was moving up again to join Luke, face to face, his body fitting within the Jedi’s legs, raised on one arm to keep his weight off as he reached between them. He guided the throbbing tip to where Luke was prepped, lingered there for a moment, and in that moment everything seemed to still. They kissed, their bodies buzzed in unison, crackling with heat that was ready to erupt in flames, and the way that Din looked at him, his eyes soft but hungry, looking at Luke as though staring into a nebula.

Luke held his face with both hands, he never wanted it covered again, but he knew the way.

Din pushed inside. It was tight, full, and Luke’s fingers curled into the hair at the nape of Din’s neck, pulling a little harder than he meant to. He felt a surge through his body to have Din inside him again, and his mouth opened wide with a gasp for air.

The hard grunt from Din melted into a low moan. He pushed again, and again. It wasn’t the fast, feverish pace they had often set with one another. This time it was slow and savoring. Each thrust a caress. They could never look away from each other for long, or not kiss one another, slowly but deeply.

“Dank farrik..” Din groaned, pushing in deep and hard, his pace gradually beginning to quicken. “You’re just… so good…”

“Faster, Din…” Luke held on tightly. “I give up, I want you, I can’t hold out anymore…”

Din happily complied. He took Luke’s legs, planting a calf on each of his shoulders, and with his hands firmly gripping Luke’s narrow hips, he went fast and hard, driving deep at an angle that made Luke cry out with pleasure. The space of the ship was now filled with the the rhythmic sounds of flesh slapping flesh, Luke’s unencumbered moans and pleading, and Din’s hoarse groans as he kept the pace and bellowed with each breath.

The water that had been on their bodies was replaced with sweat now, the humidity soaking them, the exertion even more so. The pace was getting more frenetic and everything was rising in Luke, reacting and ready to ignite. He held on tight under Din’s complete control, the Mandalorian’s hips driving hard, deep, steady but fast. He relished the sounds. The last time they had each other, they had to be quiet, and he was not shy about letting Din know how good it felt, how maddening it was. He wished he could get more noise from Din, who was not quite as vocal as Luke had hoped.

Luke couldn’t catch his breath, and he didn’t even want to. Not when he was so close… It bloomed in him like a supernova, bursting with the heat of the universe and the moan that rose out of him was loud enough to tear at his throat, his body locking as he came, his folded position causing his own seed to coat his chest and neck. Din’s pace didn’t slow, and Luke could feel that he was close, too, he could hear it in his ragged breathes. 

“Luke…” he grunted weakly, and a choked moan escaped him.

Luke held on, he bucked his hips to meet the rhythm, to bring Din over the edge with him. He watched through hazy, half lidded eyes as Din braced himself, his teeth scraping his bottom lips, his eyes pinching closed briefly as he gave it his all, and within moments, he crumbled.

He shook violently, lurching forward with an growl, his hands gripping tightly at Luke’s thighs as he buried himself deep within, and Luke could feel the heat of him spilling out. Wave after wave quaked through Din as he panted for air, and very slowly he withdrew. Seeming half delirious, he kissed Luke’s ankle and gently lowered his legs from his shoulders. Luke was coherent enough to make room on the makeshift bed to allow Din to lie down next to him, rather than waiting for him to inevitably collapse.

Din dropped onto his side, lying on his shoulder, his face buried against Luke’s damp left shoulder as he huffed for air. Luke reached with his right hand to stroke at Din’s hair, gloved fingers petting weakly. They lay in silence for a moment, allowing everything to settle.

Finally, Din sat up on one elbow, leaning over Luke where he lay on his back. Din took Luke’s gloved hand, and without a word, began to pull off the leather cover, revealing the bionic hand. Ever since the synthetic flesh had been damaged, Luke had never bothered with replacing it. He told himself he needed the reminder of where it came from, and where he was dangerously close to going. And yet he always kept the glove on. Din held the robotic digits in his own and kissed at where flesh melded with metal along Luke’s forearm. 

Din wasn’t repulsed by the prosthetic. Without a word being said, Din was showing him that he accepted every part of him, just as Luke had done for him. No helmets, no gloves. Now that things were quieting again, Luke remembered with a shiver of excitement that they were now bonded to one another under Mandalorian law. He couldn’t help the wide smile that spread on his face and he turned to wrap himself up in Din, arms and legs tangling. The stickiness of sweat and other fluids was between them, but he didn’t care. He was going to enjoy this while he could.

“I love you, Din.” He said it with no hesitation and no regret. It was something he had known for some time and realized he had never used the words.

“I love you, too.”

The reply came without the slightest pause and Luke was smiling, sleepy and more content then he has probably ever been in his entire, unsatisfied life. Soon they would have to leave this moon. They needed to return to Leia and form a plan about what to do about this Moff Gideon. Something told Luke that his own journey to find the remnants of the Jedi somehow converged with Gideon and the child. Whatever happened once they left this moon, he wasn’t afraid. He had the Force. He had Han and Leia. He had Din Djarin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this fic started with a bang leading into some kind of plot, but I honestly just wanted to continue with the fluff and stuff. That's not to say I won't have a more plot-driven continuation once Season 2 finishes, because I have a feeling it will spark some ideas...
> 
> Anyway, thank you all for reading this and "Comet Passing" and all the wonderful comments and kudos! Kudos and comments make me smile so hard and always make me excited to write more!


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